A Brother Like Mine
by Rawiyah
Summary: After stumbling upon another cursed treasure, Jack begins to deteriorate into child again... Will Turner is left in charge of "child Jack" and in taking care of him, he learns new things about Jack and about himself. No Slash. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place in between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter One; the Young Princess of Peru

. . .

"Our daughter is dying…" The king cried to the doctor, "You must do something!" The doctors only turned around and looked the king straight, dead in the eye.

"There is nothing we can do!" The doctor spat. "She's going to die, yes… and I'm sorry but we can't help her! We don't even know what wrong with her… but she's dying" The doctor huffed and he turned around to leave the palace again, "Now we gave you our diagnosis and that's all we can do for her. Good day, Sir!" The doctor left the room, slamming to door behind him and leaving a completely baffled king and queen.

Within minutes, the Queen began bawling and she leaned over the bed to where her dying daughter lay. "Oh, my baby…" she whispered softly to the child. The girl's eyelashes fluttered as they were closed and she slowly cracked them open and looked at her mother. The king hugged his wailing wife and patted her back softly.

"Papa…" the girl whimpered softly.

"Shh, don't talk, dear." The king responded. He then pulled out from his pocket a long, beautiful necklace with nothing but a single, small medallion on it. "I meant to give this to you for your sixteenth birthday…" He chuckled softly. "But things have changed, so I give this to you now, dear."

The girl reached out and took the medallion from him and she examined it with tired eyes. "What is this…?"

"It's gold, dear. This belonged to your grandfather, your great-grandfather and your great-great-grandfather… all of royal blood. It's a family heirloom and it represents the bond between the parent and the child." The girl looked at it, and suddenly, her large black eyes seemed to light up a little with happiness. She looked at her father and gave a large, toothy smile.

"Thank you, Father!" She reached out and hugged him and he chuckled again…

The following day, she did not wake up and she was buried with her medallion and the stuffed bear her mother gave her. At six years old, she became the youngest princess of Peru.

––––

Upon finding the sacred tomb that they had searched for, for so long, the crew grew frantic and wallowed in the huge amounts of gold and treasures that lay in the cave that was the tomb for the youngest princess of Peru.

None of the crewmembers actually knew her name, but none of that mattered to them. Each member of the crew took with them an item of worth, something that was big and high in value. Nevertheless, Jack had had his eyes set on a large box… a golden box, which was in the shape of a coffin... _Rather small for a coffin, though… _he thought to himself as he began to pry it open.

Low and behold, turns out it was a coffin, he could tell without looking simply by the horrible stench the box gave off. He sighed but before he put the lid back on, he noticed two things… a stuffed bear and a beautiful golden medallion. _Now this is curious… Must've been a child who died._ Jack couldn't resist the tempting gold or the friendly face of the stuffed bear, and so… he took them both from the coffin and then pulled back the lid and left.

As they raised the anchor and sailed away en route to Tortuga, Jack examined the medallion in his hand as he cuddled the teddy bear. "Hm… this _is_ curious." The gold sparkled as the sun hit it and it reflected beautiful specks of golden light around it. Jack smirked and kissed it gently. "T'is'll make a very fine trinket for me hair." He patted his head and slipped the medallion away in his pocket.

The crew was outside of his cabin, running around hastily as they prepared en route for Tortuga.

"Oi!" Jack yelled to the crew as he stepped out from his cabin. "All hands! Slacken braces." The crew nodded and in unison repeated the captain's orders. Jack smirked again and left into his cabin to muse about his newest belongings.

There was a knock at the door, and Will Turner had opened it quickly, expecting that it was a potential customer.

"Hel…" Anamaria cut him off as she held in her arms a seemingly either very drunk or very tired Jack. His head was slumped over his shoulders and his thick dreadlocks covered his face.

"You have to help us!" She spoke quickly and pushed her way into the blacksmith's workplace.

––––

"So, wait…. What happened?" Will's eyes were wide and he could almost not believe the words that were spewing from Anamaria's mouth. Anamaria went over the story again, and her theory about Jack.

"…and now.. I don't know!" She glanced over at the sleeping Jack on the floor. "He's… acting like a child, Will."

"What?" Will immediately threw his hands over his mouth and prayed that he didn't wake up Jack. Thankfully, for him, Jack was still on the floor with his thumb in his mouth and snoring soundly. Will sighed and he whispered to Anamaria, "So what do you want me for…?"

Anamaria looked at Jack and she whispered back, "We need you to watch him while we return the treasure to the tomb and figure out what the 'curse' is and how to break it."

Will bit his bottom lip to keep from exploding at Anamaria. He then looked at Jack and sighed, "When will you be back…?"

"We won't be gone long." She whispered.

"When." Will whispered slightly louder, and he forced himself to stay calm. "Will. You. Be. Back." He wasn't asking a question, he was demanding a straight answer.

"Two weeks." Anamaria replied hastily. "About." Her tone lowered so much at that last word that it was barely audible. She then stood up and headed toward the door. "Thank you, Turner!" She slammed the door behind her before William got the chance to say something back. He grumbled softly then looked at Jack.

Jack was sitting up straight now, completely shaken. _Damn it!_ Will kicked himself inwardly. _The slamming door woke him up_. Jack's eyes wandered around the room then landed on William. He just stared for a while then slowly began to stand up. He swayed a little, and Will's eyebrows arched, this seemed like an entirely normal stance for the pirate… was something _really_ wrong?

Jack stumbled as he walked around and he came to a halt in front of Will Turner. "H-hullo." Jack spoke. William did not say anything; he just stared at the pirate, eyes very wide and on high alert now.

Jack continued to walk with his drunken swagger around the room and he picked up a few random items and began to shove them into his pockets.

"Hey!" Will yelled, the pirate stopped and became completely still, he did not move anything but his eyes and he waited for William to approach him. Will, eventually did. "Put those back." He yelled at Jack and the pirate shied away and slowly began to put the items back.

Will's eyes widened even more, seems like this thing should be a lot easier than he thought,

* * *

Author's Notes:

This was just a plot bunny that crept into my head a couple of months ago...

I started it at first, but then left it for a long while. I kind of revived it again just the other day because I felt it was a decent plot bunny.

Tell me how you like it so far?

Thanks!

-Rawiyah


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Two: Why is there never enough food…?

Everything that Will had thought turned out to be completely wrong. Dead wrong. Jack Sparrow was nearly impossible to deal with… he left a mess everywhere he went, he tore books, he broke glasses, and he left dirt and mud everywhere he went.

William nearly had to strap Jack to a chair just so that he could keep an eye on him. Today would be Jack's first night here in William's house, and Will was not in the mood to wake up and find Jack missing.

"Jack!" Will yelled. There was no response. He waited for a moment and heard the sound of something breaking upstairs. William sighed. "Jack Sparrow!" Still no verbal response, just another glass breaking. William huffed and stormed up the steps and poked around for Jack. When he finally found Jack, Jack was in William's bedroom, snooping around the treasures and breaking the things in which he thought were worthless. "Jack!" Will yelled.

Jack turned around and glared at William.

"Oi!" Jack huffed, "Stop yer yellin' will ye?"He then turned back to the glass that he was examining with his hands. "Ahm busy with this here piece of junk…" Jack huffed and threw it behind his back, the glass came crashing to the floor, and it broke and scattered across the wood in pieces.

"Jack Sparrow!" Will yelled Jack looked back at William again and he then stood up and swayed as he walked over to the blacksmith.

"Wha is it?" He raised his nose as he glared at William.

"Your supper is getting cold." Will said coldly, "Hurry down before I kick you down there myself." He then turned around and left the room. Jack stayed where he was, being rebellious again. Then, his stomach let out a long, deep rumble and Jack bit his bottom lip. He was terribly hungry and he couldn't help but give in. As he took a step towards the door, Jack realized that he had taken off his boots once he felt a sharp piece of glass enter the bottom of his foot.

As Will was in the kitchen, he heard a long wail coming from upstairs. "Goddammit that Jack!" Will huffed and he ran up the stairs back into his room and he found Jack sitting on the ground, holding his foot and crying.

"What happened..?" Will squatted down beside Jack and tried to calm him down.

"Ma foot!" The pirate cried, "Ma FOOT!" Will looked at Jack's foot and there he saw that there was a huge piece of glass wedged between the skin and around the wound, there was oozing blood. Will sighed and he rubbed Jack's shoulders softly in an attempt to calm down the pirate.

It seemed that he sat there for hours… and Jack's wailing was only getting louder and louder by the second. Will sighed, and he knew that sooner or later _someone _would hear him… He put his finger over the pirate's lips and slowly, but surely, Jack calmed down…

It had been nearly four hours… and Will Turner had finally gotten each piece of glass out of Jack's heel. The pirate was sitting on the rug now, his hands curled into balls and covering his mouth as tears streamed from his reddened eyes. He sniffed and looked at Will with his glassy eyes…

"Don't you dare look at me like that." Will huffed. "After all… it's your own damn fault." Jack sniffed again and his bottom lip began to quiver. He took in a sharp breath to control his tears. Will sighed and he gently pulled the pirate up onto his feet. "Come on…" Jack wobbled along as Will led him to the kitchen.

––––

"More." Jack ordered.

"I already gave you seconds." Will knew now, that this time_ he_ was the one whining…

"More." Jack didn't care.

"No. I already gave you more…"

"More!" Jack's voice was growing more upset with each time he had to repeat himself.

"Time for bed!" Will stood up from the table and pushed back the chair that he had sat in. He moved to Jack and slipped his arms underneath Jack's, to pull him up from the chair he was sitting in.

"No! I want more!"

"No more!"

"More!" Jack roared. Will sighed.

"… if I give you an apple…" Will began. Jack's voice lowered slightly, and he listened to what Will had to say. "… will you stay quiet?" Jack nodded and as promised, Will gave Jack one apple.

Jack attacked the apple viciously and chewed as if he hadn't eaten for weeks… Will sighed, and led the pirate up the steps and into the bedroom. Jack, however, continued to chew noisily, not noticing that he was being taken upstairs.

It was in the moment that he saw the bed that something lit up in Jack's mind.

"Where's Dad…?" He asked Will.

"What?"

"This isn't his room…"

"No. It's not."

"I only sleep in his room."

Oh God… Will was growing very, very upset… and he was not sure if he would be able to last two weeks with this "new" Jack.

"You know what…" Will began. "We could **pretend **it's his room! Huh?"

Jack shook his head.

"I only sleep in his room." He repeated.

"Jack… what does this room have that your father's room doesn't?" Jack looked around and tried to pick a few things… it had a bed, Jack's father's room had a bed. It had a window, his father's room had a window… It had a door… his father's room had a door… The list went on and the similarities almost frightened Jack when the realization dawned upon him that his father's room wasn't special… except…

"My Dad isn't here."

"No. He's not… he…." Will had to think for a minute, "He left me in charge of you for a while."

"Who are you?" Jack asked. He was growing suspicious of Will, and Will knew it too well… He bit his bottom lip as he tried to search for something in his mind that would satisfy Jack's suspicion.

"I'm Will Turner."

"Turn. Er?" Jack echoed.

"Okay. Nighty night." Will began to pull off Jack's long coat and boots, then he took off Jack's hat… as soon as Will reached to remove Jack's shirt, Jack had a minor panic attack.

"Don't touch me!" He flung his hands over his body protectively and backed away from William.

"Jack… we need to take those clothes off. They're dirty! You're dirty!" Will spoke sternly.. and he approached Jack again, slowly. Jack continued to back away with his hands covering himself…

"Stay away from me."

"Jack, at least take it off yourself then."

"No!"

"Jack… take it off…."

"No!" Jack pouted and his bottom lip began to slide out. William sighed… he knew at this moment, that he never wanted to have kids.

"That's it!" Before Will could take a step towards Jack, Jack had turned around and ran outside of the room and down the steps. "Jack!" Will called after him as he followed. "Jack! Get back here!" He hated chasing Jack… but he did it anyway, he couldn't risk Jack getting out of the house and running into the streets wailing like a fool.

As Will began to slow down, he realized that he had lost Jack… He paused where he stood in the kitchen, waiting to hear some kind of noise. There was none. He leaned back onto the wall and swore under his breath…

The minutes felt like hours… but after a while of sitting and waiting, Will finally heard soft footsteps moving from the left side of him. Immediately, Will practically tackled Jack to the floor, but he caught him and pinned him there.

Jack was wailing loudly again, until Will had covered his mouth with his hand.

"I'll give you a bottle of rum if you stop yelling, take a bath and go to bed like a good boy…" Will whispered into Jack's ear. Jack's body almost instantly fell limp like jelly and he stopped making sound. Will smiled and he patted Jack's back gently, "Good boy."

––––

Jack laid in bed. Completely clean from head-to-toe and he contently sucked on the nose of a bottle of rum. Will watched him for a minute…

"Comfy?" He asked Jack. But Jack did not respond… instead, he just continued to gulp down the rum and hum softly. Will couldn't help but smile a little… after all.. Jack did resemble a baby in his cradle, drinking a bottle of milk. Will sighed and made his way out. Before he closed the door behind him, he curiously peeked through the crack of the door and watched as Jack continued to vigorously drink the rum.

Will smiled. Then went to his own bedroom to get some sleep.

Only hours later, Will woke up again and he went to check on Jack. He cracked open the door softly and peered into the room… Jack was exactly where he left him... laying in bed with his hand over his face and his mouth wide open. Jack snored soundly and Will let out a long sigh. The rum bottle, however, was on floor on its side, completely emptied of its contents. William's lips curled into a proud smile and he went back to his room where he slept with no more interruptions that night.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I'm notorious for making short chapters.

Anyway. You know the routine. R & R.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC

* * *

Chapter Three: Playtime with Will

"Wake up!" Jack's yelling dragged Will from his beautiful dream so suddenly that when Will's eyes opened, his vision was still blurred…"Wake up!" Jack yelled again and now William felt soft taps across his body. "Wake up!" Jack yelled again.

"I'm up!" Will yelled back. Jack fell silent and he waited for Will to collect himself.

"Hungry." Jack whined softly.

"No. You're not hungry…" Will snorted. "You're just saying that so that I'll go downstairs and make you some food so that you can stay in here and mess everything up!"

"Hungry." It was almost as if Jack didn't comprehend a single word that Will had just said… and it was that innocence that was beginning to piss him off.

"You go downstairs first. Then you can eat." Will smirked. Jack nodded and he left Will's room to go downstairs where he sat at the table patiently. Will sighed and he stood up from his bed and followed Jack to the kitchen.

––––

They ate in silence… almost. If it weren't for Jack's noisy, sloppy eating habits, it would have been completely silent.

Clang!

Jack dropped his fork again… Will sighed.

Splat!

Jack dropped a boiled egg on the ground. Will decided on not saying anything. Jack whined deeply in his throat, and then leaned over to pick up the egg that he dropped. Will couldn't help but glance over to Jack, who was now sitting up straight with his dirtied egg in his hand. Will grimaced when he saw the spots of grime and dirt that clung to the shiny, white surface of Jack's egg.

Jack opened his mouth and ate it, regardless of the dirt on it.

"No!" Will yelled and he stood up from his chair and whacked the egg from Jack's hand. "Don't eat that!"

Jack only stared. Then, he continued to chew on the bits and pieces that were still in his mouth.

"Spit that out." Will demanded. Jack shook his head. "Spit it out!"

"No!" Egg bits flew from Jack's mouth as he yelled. Will felt his face flush with frustration and he did the only sensible thing he could think of at the time. He reached over and grabbed Jack's face and began to pry open the pirate's mouth.

"Spit. It. Out!"

"Nohmmph!"

"Jack!" Will wasn't fooling around anymore. Jack stopped struggling and he looked up at will through his dreadlocks. He then looked at the ground in defeat and opened his mouth to spit out the gunk that he had eaten off the floor. "Good boy…" Will patted Jack on the back gently.

––––

"Stop squirming!" Will thought it was a pain to bathe Jack… it was even worse trying to brush his teeth.

Jack didn't heed a single word that Will had said, and he kept struggling against the intruding tool that was being shoved into each corner of his mouth. Will head Jack's head in place by clutching the long braid that was tied tightly in the back of Jack's head.

"It'll hurt more if you keep squirming!" Will sighed_… Whoever heard of brushing your teeth being painful?_ Jack continued to wiggle in Will's arms however… and after ten long minutes, Will gave Jack a glass of water and told him to rinse his mouth… Jack, however, didn't rinse his mouth properly. Instead, he just drank down the water as well as the toothpaste in his mouth.

"Geez…" Will sighed. Jack's face distorted in disgust at the taste and he poked his tongue out to scratch it. "Don't do that!" Will smacked Jack's hand away, and Jack's bottom lip poked out slightly and shivered… "I just cleaned your teeth… your hands are dirty." Jack sniffed and in that moment, Will wished he had never said anything.

It took again, another few hours to calm Jack down… and Will found himself sprawled across a chair with his hand on his head. Jack, however, was in the other room, playing happily with a few wooden trinkets that Will had made for him.

"Will!" Jack called from the other room. William, however, ignored him completely… still upset over all of the trouble this 'new' Jack has caused him. "Will!" Jack called again. Still, Will did not respond. Jack continued to call for Will, even though the blacksmith did not reply. Jack probably called for Will at least twenty or so times before he yelled out, "Play with me!" Will's eyes widened and he sat up from where he was and finally replied,

"What?"

"Play with me!" Jack repeated. Will shook his head and he began to rub the temples of his head with the pads of his fingers. He let out a long, shaky breath… and figured that it would do him so good to just play with the pirate. Will sighed again but he stood up and walked into the room where Jack had been sitting on the floor, playing.

"Play with me!" He cooed again. Will tried to hide his smile, but he couldn't stop his soft laughter from escaping his lips.

"Alright!" He smiled and plopped down next to Jack on the floor, "What game?"

"I'll be the pirate…" Jack moved and he began to explain what the 'game' was and how it was played. "… and you'll be the Naval Officer!" William nodded. Jack stood up from where he sat and he pounded his chest like an ape and cried, "Arggg! I'm da mos' fearsome pirate ye ever saw, Will Turn Er!"

William smirked and he stood up as well. "Mr. Sparrow! You're the worst pirate I've ever heard of!" Jack looked up at Will in what appeared to be pure horror…

"Ye think I'm a bad pirate…? Ye don't mean it, do ye?" Jack's eyes widened and he looked again, as if he were about to cry. Will hadn't realized how much he'd actually insulted the pirate.

"No, Jack… I'm acting!" Jack's face softened and he gave a toothy grin, flashing his shiny, golden teeth.

"Oh. Well then, Mr. Officer!" Jack smiled and he jumped on Will playfully. "Ye have heard of me, though!" Will laughed whole-heartedly and the two of them ran around the house, fighting dragons, sea-monsters and dodging each other at the same time. After a while, Jack declared that Will was to be a pirate too, and together, they rescued beautiful damsels in distress, they outwitted numerous pirate foes and stole fascinating amounts of golden treasure. They sailed across the world and they saw many amazing things. They even went back in time to the land of the dinosaurs, and then they traveled through the future, to where all kinds of strange technology was seen.

After all of this, they sailed back home, and found themselves on the floor again, laying down flat on their backs and staring up at the ceiling.

"Will…?"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"Why can't we ever go outside…?" Will fell silent, and he wasn't really sure what to tell Jack. He felt a burning pain in his chest, when he looked at those innocent, deep, chocolaty brown eyes… He couldn't bring himself to lie to Jack… not completely, at least.

"Well… Jack…. There are these… huge… creatures outside!" Will turned to Jack and gestured at their supposed size. Jack's eyes widened and his mouth hung open,

"Creatures!" Jack echoed. "May we see?"

"No!" Will shook his head and he reached out to hold Jack's shoulders. "They're huge, ferocious, and they will eat you if they see you!" Jack gasped and his eyes seemed to grow so huge that they could have bugled from their sockets.

"They'll eat me…?" His voice was just above a whisper and he sounded… almost terrified. Will's intention was not to scare Jack… quite on the contrary, he wanted to excite Jack, not frighten him.

"Yes… but in here, we are safe. See? I'm here to protect you from being eaten…" Well… it was somewhat true. After all, he was there to protect Jack from being caught by the army, yes… He was not _completely_ lying. Jack's breathing quickened a little and he looked around the room with wide eyes.

"W-why would they want to eat me…?" He asked again, in a soft, whispery voice.

"They'll eat anyone!" Will spoke equally as soft now, still trying not to scare Jack. "They'll eat me, they'll eat you… they'll eat anyone!"

"Did they eat my Dad…?" By now, Jack's eyes were pink and watery. "… I-is that why he's not here now?"

Will shook his head and he reached out to pull Jack into a warm embrace.

"No, no…" Will whispered softly. "He's fine. It's okay…" Jack shook violently and Will hugged him even tighter. "He's okay… he's just gone for a little while."

Jack shook again as a spasm shot down his spine. "I-I hope so…"

Will chewed on his bottom lip and cursed himself mentally… if he had known Jack would respond like this, he never would have lied, and even now he felt terrible for doing it.

Jack fell asleep in Will's arms… and once Will was certain that the pirate was out for good, he picked Jack up and slung him over his shoulder. Jack, was surprisingly not as heavy as he had imagined… not to say that Jack wasn't heavy, no… Will nearly fell over the first time he attempted to pick him up.

He carried Jack up the stairs and to the bedroom. Though, it was still daylight outside, he figured Jack would be sleeping a lot more often now that he was a "child" again. Will flopped Jack onto the bed gently, and he laid the pirate out nice and neat. Will tugged on the sheets and covered the sleeping pirate with them…

"'Night." We called to Jack in a soft voice. Jack only responded with a long, loud snore… Will chuckled but just before he was going to close the door he paused and thought for a moment. He then turned to Jack again… Then, he walked over to Jack's sleeping form and kissed him gently on the forehead. Jack did not respond… he didn't even make any sound.

Will beamed, feeling a strange sense of pride when he saw Jack sleeping. He couldn't explain the feeling… But he felt very good, and he enjoyed playing with Jack today. He continued to beam with pride and he turned away and closed the door behind him as he left Jack's bedroom. Even in the kitchen as he was cooking Jack's lunch, he still felt that pride linger… he knew now, that there was some perks to parenthood.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Ah yes... I wanted a bit of fluff in this story.

Same thing as always!  
R & R


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place in between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Four: Those frightening nightmares…

It was nighttime… and not a single creature was stirring.

Will lay in bed, wide-awake and staring at the ceiling. He didn't know exactly why he wasn't tired… In fact, he felt like a child trying to sleep on the night before Christmas. He couldn't bring himself to even shut his eyes. He heard Jack snoring from the other room, and he sighed again…

Hours passed, and Will's eyes finally began to fall shut, but before he could actually begin to enjoy sleep, he heard a loud wailing coming from the other room.

"God damn it, Jack!" Will huffed and he nearly fell off the bed. He stood up and picked his robe from the chair next to him. Lighting a candle and slipping on his shoes, he continued to let out a long string of whispery curse words. His made his way to Jack's room, and the crying grew louder and louder…

"Jack…?" Will called as he opened the door slowly. Jack's sobs died down a little, until they were just soft, gentle sniffs and whines.

"Will Turn Er!" He cried again, and he took in a quick breath and sobs loudly once more. Will set down the light on the dresser and he approached Jack's bedside slowly.

"Why are you crying now, Jack…?" He tried to not sound annoyed… and he knew he was probably failing terribly at it.

"I-I… I h-had a nightmare, W-Will Tu-urn Er." Jack mumbled between sobs and after his sentence finished, he cried even harder and more tears spilled from his eyes like leaking faucets. It was too dark for Will to get a good glimpse of Jack's face.. However, from what he could see in the dim candlelight, he noticed Jack's face was flushed and tears were staining his cheeks.

"Ah…" Will sighed, "I see." Jack just continued to cry and he wiped at his eyes with his hands balled into fists. "Come on… You can sleep with me tonight, then." Jack's crying slowly died down and he nodded obediently. Will snaked his arms around Jack's waist and helped the pirate to his feet… from there he led Jack to his room and laid him across the bed.

Jack gave a small, shy smile as he snuggled into the sheets. After the pirate was comfortable, Will came into the bed next and he blew out the candle, leaving them to be in silence and darkness… The only light in the room was that from the moonlight that shone through the open window. Will closed his eyes and let out a long breath through his nostrils… he almost would have fallen asleep instantly, if it weren't for Jack, who had snuggled against Will's side and purred happily, like a cat finding a new owner.

Jack's beard tickled at Will's chest and it was then, that Will made the decision to shave it off… after all, Jack probably wouldn't notice if there wasn't a mirror present. Will's train of thought came to a crashing halt, when he could hear Jack snoring contently…

Will smiled and kissed the pirate's head in a fatherly gesture. He smirked, realizing that he could actually get used to this.

––––

"Wake up!" Jack yelled and he pushed Will's side. "Wake up!"

"Go away!" Will turned his back to Jack and he buried his head in his pillow in another failing attempt to drown out Jack's voice. Jack hit Will's back and he continued to call for him,

"Wake up!" Jack giggled. "Wake up!" Will slid from the bed, still tired having not gotten much sleep the last night.

"Fine…" He snorted, "I'm up."

"Hungry." Jack smiled. Will gestured for him to go downstairs and wait… exactly as he did the other day. Jack nodded and left to go downstairs. Will stood up and stretched as soon as Jack's footsteps were no longer heard. Will sighed but just as he was about to go downstairs, his eyes fell upon his shaving utensils on the dresser and he felt his lips curl into a devious smirk.

"Jack!" Will called downstairs.

"Will Turn Er?" Jack called back.

"Jack! Come up here for a minute, there's something I want to show you…"

Curious, Jack crawled up the steps slowly and came to stand in front of Will. Will sat him down in the chair next to the dresser and he coated Jack's mouth and chin with shaving cream. Not realizing Jack's curiosity… he didn't notice when Jack wiped off a little bit with his finger and tasted it.

Seeing Jack's grimace, however, he immediately knew what the pirate had done.

"Jack!" He yelled and smacked Jacks hand lightly. "Don't you taste that! It's bad for you…" Jack's eyebrows arched and his eyes widened. "And don't you give me those puppy dog eyes either!" He huffed, turned around, and continued on with shaving Jack's mustache and beard. Jack sat in the chair patiently, and from then on he didn't make anymore movements.

However, when he saw the sharp razors that Will was holding, he almost fell out of the chair in panic and he jumped up, wailing loudly and flailing his arms he jumped onto the bed and clung to the sheets.

"No!" Jack cried. "No! Don't cut me! I didn't mean to taste it!" Jack's eyes were getting pink and Will cursed.

"No, Jack… I'm not going to cut you, calm down."

"Ah'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Jack!" Will yelled. "I'm not going to cut you!" Will tried to approach Jack calmly. "Trust me, I won't cut you…"

It took a lot of coaxing… but Will finally convinced Jack to come back to the chair and get a shave. Funny, Jack hadn't even realized that the facial hair was even there until it was shaven off. Will was careful, and he went painfully slow, not wanting to scare Jack anymore than he already was.

Once Will had shaven every last hair off Jack's face, he ordered Jack to wash off his face, and Jack did.

"Good boy." Will smiled, "Now, let me look at you." Jack removed the towel from his face and gave a shy smile. He looked… clean. Much cleaner than he ever has, at least. Will was not sure if Jack would kill him after this curse breaks or if Jack would even care, but either way… he figured at least _some_ of it would grow within the next two weeks. "You look great." Jack smiled and he looked at the ground bashfully. "Come on. Let's eat."

Will grabbed Jack's hand and together they raced down the steps to the kitchen table…

––––

"… and then a huge monster shot up from out of the water!"

"Oh really?" Will smiled and he watched Jack as Jack was retelling a story of how his father had sailed the seven seas and came across many good treasures and other things. Jack would just continue rambling, on and on. He'd pause to take a bite of food, then continue talking, even with his mouth stuffed full.

After their food had been long gone from their plates, and after their cups had been completely drained of its contents, Jack continued to tell his fantastic stories of his father.

"Captain Teague!" Jack exclaimed, proudly. He beamed in his own glory for a moment… but then it was suddenly replaced by a painful sorrow. Jack slumped over a little and gazed outside of the window. He was not looking at anything in particular…

"Jack?" Jack's attention snapped back to Will. "Are you alright?"

"…Yeah." He shrugged. "Play with me!" His mood changed so drastically it was almost light night and day for a second. Will nodded anyway…

Today they had an adventure three times better than their last one. Jack Sparrow was the bad person this time, and Will Turner played the role of the notorious pirate, who sailed the seven seas and rescued pretty damsels in distress. They went to Shanghai and Singapore to Britain and France. They then sailed together, across the world, meeting all kinds of strange, new civilizations… finding all types of interesting treasures.

All around the small house, they ran up and down the steps and through the different rooms. Then, they both came to a stop, where they weighed anchor and called it a break.

The door knocked, and Will's blood ran cold. He waited a moment, the door knocked again. Jack sat up and looked Will curiously, then back at the door.

"Jack… go to the bedroom. I'll meet you there." Will stood up and gestured for Jack to hurry. Jack was still a little confused, but he obeyed Will anyway and he ran up the stairs and into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Will opened the door cautiously, and was shocked to see that it was nothing but a complete stranger. However, the uniform that he wore gave Will the indication that this man was serving under the King. The man's powered white wig seemed to glisten in the sunlight and his red uniform made him appear even brighter. It was obvious this man was terribly uncomfortable in the heat, as beads of sweat were running down his face.

He was a fairly big fellow… not fat, just…Big. Big bones, tall in stature and he seemed very sturdy. He spoke…

"Are you William Turner, the blacksmith?" His voice was deep, yet entirely proper… as if he were raised in a glass house.

"I am." Will's voice, on the other hand, was breathy and now seemingly tinted with annoyance.

"I'm here to commission a sword from you…"

…

Jack sat next to his door with was cracked open ever so slightly… He was listening intensively to the conversation between Will and the stranger.

"Thank you." Was the last words that were mumbled before he heard the door slam shut and Will huffing frustrated…

"Will Turn Er?" Jack called from his room, "May I come out now?"

"Come on, Jack." Will called back. He didn't have to tell Jack twice, Jack had begun running down the steps in pure excitement and curiosity after the man had left. Jack stopped in front of Will and gazed into his eyes, expecting to see answers there. Will sighed. "Jack, I'm afraid that I can't play anymore today…"

"What?" Jack gasped and his eyes darted around the room nervously… "But… why?"

"I have work that I need to do." Will replied without facing the pirate… he wasn't exactly sure if he could handle that painful look of disappointment on Jack's face. Jack's bottom lip slid out and he began to sniff, as though he would cry again. Will sighed again, "Don't you dare start crying either. We'll just have to play tomorrow is all."

Jack nodded and left Will to do his work.

Jack didn't see where Will left off to, but Will left… and Jack panicked. He wasn't sure if Will when Will was coming back, or if Will was coming back.

That strange fearfulness engulfed him, and he could not handle the hurt that flamed inside of him like wildfire. He stormed into Will's room and sat on his bed. He felt… lost without Will and in his anger, he stood up and began throwing random objects around. He did not care what it was… he threw glass vases, threw brushes and combs; he even threw around Will's clothes.

Jack was so hell bent on destruction that he had not felt the warm tears that leaked from the corners of his eyes and slid down his face. After he felt that he had destroyed enough, he slumped to the floor and lay there, perfectly still.

He heard Will's footsteps after a few minutes, and he knew deep down, that he would be dead once Will saw the state of his room. As expected, William opened the door and when he saw the mess in his room, he almost exploded at Jack. He pulled Jack up from where he laid on the floor and dragged the limp pirate to the other bedroom.

––––

Jack wasn't given any supper that night, and he was sent to bed early.

The most he got was a couple pieces of toast with butter and a glass of milk. Will was still completely furious at Jack, and he hadn't spoken to the pirate at all except for words that needed to be spoken…

A few hours passed, however, and Jack had another nightmare. Only, this time he cried even harder and sobbed even louder because he knew that Will would not come into his room to check on him. But, Jack was proven wrong, and within minutes of his wailing, Will was standing in the doorframe, leaning against the wood with his robe covering him and a lit candle lamp in one hand.

"Why are you crying, Jack…?" Will's voice was still groggy from having just been woken up from sleep.

"I-I had a-another nightmare, Will Turn Er." Jack sniffed and he curled his hands into balls and brought them to cover his mouth He sniffed again. Will sighed and he gestured for Jack to stand up.

"Come on…" Jack stood up and followed Will to his bedroom. He crawled under the sheets and snuggled against Will once he had lain in the bed as well… Will sighed. Jack couldn't explain it… but he was beginning to truly feel safe with Will. He especially felt good because William had came back after he left…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thank you so much to all of you who left Reviews!  
I always love to see people's comments and remarks about my stories, and it always makes me feel really accomplished.

A few responses, please? :

Smithy: Yes! I actually did not think of that until I read your comment, to be honest, I was going for a more brotherly relationship versus Father & Son. But since you mentioned it, you've really helped me out with the plot. :B

Sue: Thank you so much. (: I usually tend to start a story, and then stop.. but this one I'm actually planning to finish.

Bellatrix's Homegurl: Oh! Another Helena Bonham Carter fan? Lol! Thank you so much. (:

And the everyone who's read the story up to here... Thank you so much for your support.

R & R


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC

* * *

Chapter Five: I am sorry that I am this way…

William woke up to the peaceful sound of birds chirping far off in the distance… He smiled, feeling very refreshed to actually wake up to something other than Jack's voice. Speak of the devil…

Jack was still clinging to William as he slept soundly. The absence of beard made it so much easier for Will to sleep with Jack and avoid being scratched or tickled. The slight smile that stuck to Jack's sleeping form indicated that he was not having any more nightmares and that made Will feel good. He slowly wiggled from Jack's hold and he slid out of the bed.

He made his way downstairs and to the kitchen to start cooking Jack's breakfast. He looked out the window and noticed that there was a lot more people walking the streets than usual. He rubbed his eyes, still tired, but trying to rub away the words that Jack spoke to him earlier… "Why can't we go outside?" Will remembered that awful lie he told Jack. He felt his conscious gnawing at him…

He was pulled from his thoughts all of a sudden when he heard Jack crying from upstairs. He sighed and dropped everything to run back up the stairs into his room where Jack was sitting up straight now, his hands covering his eyes as he sobbed.

"Jack!" Will called… Jack's crying quieted quite a bit, and Jack turned to look at the blacksmith…

"Will Turn Er!" Jack's somber expression immediately changed to a toothy smile and he jumped out of the bed and ran to embrace Will. "Oh! Will Turn Er!" Will was taken back, and he was not sure what to say.

"Yeah." Will smiled nervously and petted the pirate's hair.

"I-I… I t-thought ye'd not come b-back." Jack spoke between his sharp sobs. Will's face contorted in confusion for a minute, but before he decided on going into detail with Jack, he simply tugged on the pirate's shirt and led him down the stairs to the table, where he had laid the food out.

Jack ate, sloppily, but silently. He picked up large pieces of random foods with his grubby hands and shoved it into his mouth as though he had not eaten for days. Never mind chewing! Jack just shoved it in and swallowed. Will stared… a mix between disgust and utter awe was in his expression. What was making the pirate so excited that he felt he needed to eat fast to get it done?

"Jack." Will called out softly. Jack's eyes shot up at Will and he immediately froze in position. Will smirked, "Slow down. Chew." He gestured to Jack what 'chewing' was and he nodded, waiting for Jack to copy. Jack nodded and he slowed down by a hair.

It was honestly only about five minutes until Jack had completely cleaned his plate and he was sitting at the table with a blank expression his face. Will hadn't seen this behavior in Jack before… and it was starting to bother him slightly.

"Jack?" Jack's eyes wandered over to Will, giving him his undivided attention. "Are you okay…?"

"May I ask ye somethin', Will Turn Er?" Will's eyebrow arched, but he slowly nodded anyway. "Would ye leave me ever…?"

"Leave you?"

"Would ye just take yer stuff and begone one day?" Jack's head was now lifted and he looked at Will again with those large, chocolately eyes…

"Why would I just pack up and go?" Will laughed, "This is _my_ house!" Jack smiled and he began to laugh nervously too, almost as if he were trying to cover up something deeper.

"Oh!" He laughed, "Yer right, Will! Never mind!" Jack continued to use his obviously fake laugh… and Will was starting to feel a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Still, he decided against asking Jack any questions just yet…

After breakfast, they had playtime again, and this time instead of being pirates, Will was the pretty damsel in distress and Jack was the knight in shining armor. Will had gone from being Snow White, to Cinderella, to Belle, and even to being Sleeping Beauty. Jack delighted in being the heroic knight in shining armor… but he, like any 'child' his age, hated the kissing part and instead he just tapped Will on the leg whenever he wanted Will to come out of a long, entrancing spell.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your long hair!" Jack called to Will who was standing on the stairs.

"Jack…" Will called as he began to examine the locks of his medium length, brown hair. "I think you'd be better for this one."

Jack's lips pressed into a thin lip and he grabbed a few of his long dreadlocks and looked. Will was right… his hair was by far longer than Will's.

"But I don't want to be the girl!"

"Too bad! We're taking turns!" And so… Jack ended up being Rapunzel after all… a lousy Rapunzel he was, but he was Rapunzel nonetheless.

The day turned to afternoon, and they paused to eat their lunch before continuing on to fighting dragons and meeting mystic fairies and other fantasy creatures. However, just as Jack was about to free Will from a dragon-guarded castle… there was a knock at the door and both the blacksmith and the pirate went entirely still.

"Jack… go to your room." Jack nodded and he left to go back to the bedroom and he cracked the door to listen in on the conversations below. Will straightened himself up and he stood tall and walked to open the door…

He was shocked to see who it was. A lady... a fair lady with long, golden hair and the brightest blue eyes that put even the bluest ocean to shame.

"Elizabeth…" He spoke just above a whisper.

"Did you miss me?" She asked, smiling. Will's mind wanted him to nod, but his body did not perform the action and instead Elizabeth figured he was so overcome with relief that he was speechless. She pushed him aside and walked into his house… Will did not say anything to protest. She noticed the random toys that were spread across the floors… she also noticed the two wooden swords that were standing against the staircase. "Hm… not as clean as I remember it."

"Actually, Elizabeth… I'm busy for now." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to lead her to the door. She was shocked and looked at him as though he had gone mad. "But, don't worry… I'll be waiting for you when the sun goes down." He gave her a devious smirk and in return, Elizabeth blushed.

"See you then, dear." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and turned to go back into the busy streets of Port Royale.

Will closed the door behind him and he let out a long breath. Jack had already climbed down the stairs and came to stand in front of Will.

"Who was that?" Jack asked, curiously. Will blushed a little and he stood up and turned around in an attempt to hide it from Jack.

"No one, Jack…" When his face was no longer warm, he turned to Jack and spoke again, "So, where were we then…?" Jack smiled and he ran to pick up his wooden sword and he lifted it high into the air in triumph.

"I was rescuing ye from the dragon-guarded castle!"

They continued to play until the sun began to set and Will quickly gave Jack his supper before sending him upstairs to early bed. After he was certain that Jack was asleep, he went back downstairs and waited on the couch for Elizabeth. As expected, she came only a few minutes after the sun was completely gone from the sky.

"Missed me?" She asked after she opened the door and allowed herself in.

"Oh yes…" Will purred. They held each other and kissed passionately. In that one kiss alone, there were both already sweating and flushed. When the broke to take a breather Will smirked and spoke to Elizabeth in a soft whisper… "How about.." He took in a long breath again, "We take this to my room?"

They found themselves crawling up the steps quietly, as the last thing Will wanted was for Jack to wake up and Elizabeth recognizing him. They quietly walked to Will's bedroom, but once they hit the sheets… it was all they could do but to keep quiet.

. . .

Jack's eyelids fluttered and he found himself being pulled from his slumber by the sound of heavy thumping coming from Will's room…

He wasn't exactly sure what it was… but as they say, curiosity killed the cat… Jack slid out of his bed and slowly made his way across the hall to Will's room. The thumping grew even louder, but this time, there were voices accompanied by the thumping sounds. Jack could only recognize one of the voices as Will's… the other he suspected, was a girl.

A boiling rage began to build up inside Jack… He wasn't stupid and he knew exactly what was going on. But, Jack didn't want to make assumptions, he slowly turned the knob to Will's room and peeked inside… what he saw, he wished he'd never had to see again. He closed the door immediately and ran back to his room, dove under the sheets of his bed and curled into a ball.

The thumping sounds died down after Jack had heard a long, ecstasy filled cry from both the stranger and Will. The house went dead silent after that… all except for Jack's sniffing. He felt weak again… as if he was loosing his best friend.

––––

"Jack!" Will called from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Ah'm not hungry!" Jack called back.

"Jack! Get down here and eat!"

"No!"

"Jack Sparrow!"

"No!"

Will groaned in frustration. Up until this point, he had not realized that Jack was actually pretty manageable up until he was upset. Will stormed up the steps, creating loud, threatening footsteps that could be heard all the way from where Jack sat on the bed in his room. When Will threw open the door, Jack jumped a little and he scooted further away from Will.

"Jack! Get down there and eat before I kick you down there myself!"

"No…" Jack's voice cracked a little and it dropped greatly in volume. Jack could not hold back another sniff and he scooted further away from Will. William noticed this change in Jack's behavior… and so, he changed his as well. He bent over and looked at Jack curiously; he was not going to yell anymore.

"Jack…?" He asked softly. "Are you okay…?" Jack did not respond for a long time. He just sat there and stared at a spot on the wall in front of him. "Jack?" Will repeated.

"Ye're going to replace me…" Jack cried softly. He spoke it as a statement… a statement that he knew was to be true. His lips dropped to create a heartbreaking frown and he sniffed again.

"No!" Will shook his head and he moved to sit on the bed next to Jack. "No, I could never replace you…" He reached out to grab Jack and pull him into another hug. Jack did not protest. "You're like… a brother to me. Almost a son even."

"Any bugger who had even half of a mind would rather have a woman than a son…" Jack mumbled below his breath. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to catch the tears before they fell. Will's eyes widened and he suddenly realized what Jack was talking about.

"What woman…?"

"That girl that came over here…" Jack was loosing the battle to hide back his tears, and after a while, he just let them fall and he let his voice crack miserably. "Ye like her… and ye're going to leave with her." Jack's bottom lip quivered and he inhaled a sharp, shaky breath. "… ye don't want me around anymore."

"No!" Will shook his head... Almost not believing what Jack was saying. "No, no, no! I could never do that to you…" _I love you too much_… Will's mind spoke, but the words never left his thoughts, and so remained physically unspoken. He hugged Jack even tighter and allowed the pirate to sob into his shoulder. He even allowed Jack to rub his runny nose across his shoulder… as children often do.

"Ye're going to replace me…" Jack continued to cry. "Just like... Dad did!" At this point, Jack was wailing completely and he cried into William's chest… his nose running and his eyes bright red from the tears. Will patted the pirate's back in a weak attempt to comfort him. He whispered into the pirate's ear softly and continued to rock the sobbing man back and forth.

"I'm not going to replace you, Jack." Will whispered. "I promise you, I won't ever replace you…"

William continued to rock Jack, and Jack's crying continued to wail on for hours more…

* * *

Author's Notes:

This chapter was actually not finished...

But oh well. I figured this was the best place to stop for now.

R & R.

Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC

* * *

Chapter Six: That gross sickness you have…

"Will Turn Er!" Jack called… "Lookit."

"What?" Will was busy cooking, and he didn't feel like being bothered anymore this afternoon…

"Lookit!"

"I can't see right now, Jack, I'm busy…" Will continued stirring with a wooden spoon and Jack came up behind him to look at the soup in the kettle.

"Can ye see now?"

"No, Jack." Will groaned. A couple of seconds passed…

"How about now?"

"No, Jack!"

"Now?"

"No!" Will gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Jack, go upstairs and I'll call you when I'm ready to see…" Jack pouted childishly, but he slumped up the steps and went into his room obediently. There, Jack waited…

It was only ten minutes or so afterwards when Will called up to Jack, "Jack! Supper is ready! And I can finally see whatever it was…!"

Jack raced down the steps and he proudly held out what it was that he wanted Will to see. Will stared at it… it looked like … a pie.

"A pie?" Will was shocked. "Did you make it?" Jack nodded proudly and he held it out for Will to take a taste.

"Try it! Try it!" Jack urged. Will was cautious… but he poked at it with his finger. He grimaced at the texture, and when he pulled out his finger from it, he was even more disgusted at the thick, creamy brown substance that dripped from his finger… Reluctantly, he tasted it.

He spat it out onto the floor and gagged. "God! What the hell kind of pie is that?"

"It's a **mud** pie!" Jack cried. Will smacked the offending food out of Jack's hand and the pie went flying and landed smack on the floor, almost exploding on contact… Thick, bubbling brown gobs of mud were splattered across the floor in every direction and Jack's eyes began to water.

"Don't give me that face! Mud is not for eating, Jack!" Will huffed and he stared at the mud mess for a few seconds before turning to pick up a mop. "Here, help me clean this up…"

Together they cleaned the spots of mud off and once it was completely cleaned, they went to the table and ate supper. Jack was improving on his eating skills and he was getting better and better at using a fork each day.

"Will Turn Er?" Jack mumbled…

"Hm?"

"… Did ye like me pie even just a little bit?" Will shook his head.

"Not even a little bit." He noticed Jack's head lower and the pirate fell silent. "But, Jack… how about tomorrow, I teach you how to make a **real **pie?"

Jack smiled. "Okay!"

––––

As they pounded the dough together, Will took this as an opportunity to discover even more about Jack's childhood.

"Jack…"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever decided on what you want to be when you grow up?"

"Yes!" Jack smiled and he stood up from his chair and pounded his chest. "I'm going to be a sailor…"

"A sailor?" Will was confused. "Why not a pirate?"

"Because!" Jack roared. "Pirates go around with women, and they leave their children behind…" Jack's face seemed to covered in shadow from his long dreadlocks and his voice lowered in volume… "Ah'm not going to be like me father… I won't ever abandon me children."

In that moment, Will began to wonder what kind of strange game fate was playing with Jack Sparrow… He shook his head slowly, not understanding what it was that caused Jack to become such an amazing pirate later in life if he did not want to be a pirate when he was a child.

Jack shook himself from his momentary pause and he went back to pounding on the dough violently. Will sighed. He had had enough conversation with the pirate for today…

. . .

"Now Jack…" Will began. "I don't have enough rum for the two of us. We're going to split our cup." He set a small wooden mug in front of Jack and watched as Jacks eyes grew large. The pirate licked his lips and giggled softly. Will sighed, "Go ahead and drink your half."

Jack looked at Will, and then looked at the cup, then his eyes darted back towards Will again and he grinned. He took the cup in his hands and held it to his lips. Will turned away and left to get their finished pie from the oven. Jack's grin grew and he tipped the cup and began to sip down the sugary liquid.

When Will returned, Jack had finally set down the cup and he gave exaggerated efforts to make a fake cough. He covered his mouth with his hands and pushed the cup away. Will looked into the cup, and gritted his teeth when he saw the cup was completely emptied.

"Jack!" He yelled. The pirate looked at him innocently and fluttered his eyelashes… "I told you to only drink **your** half!"

"I couldn't help it!" Jack cried out. "**My** half was on the bottom!" Will groaned miserably and he set down the pie in front of them. Jack only stared at it absently… and his childish enthusiasm suddenly dispersed. Will cut a small slice for Jack and a small slice for himself. He set each slice on a fresh, white china plate and he set one in front of Jack.

"Look, I forgive you for drinking the rum…" Will spoke after they both sat in silence for a few long minutes. Jack just looked up at Will and he nodded slowly before he continued to pick at the piecrust with his fork. "Come now…" Will huffed. "Why are you doing this?"

"Ah'm not doing anything!" Jack yelled suddenly… "I just… Ah'm not hungry." Jack sighed and continued to pick at his pie. He poked out a little piece of red goop that slid from the slides and he scrunched his face… utterly disgusted. "… and I don't like strawberries."

Will hated picky eaters. "Why didn't you say that before we actually made the pie?"

"Because I was having fun _making_ it!" Jack's bottom lip began to quiver again. "I di'nt know we was actually going to eat it!"

"What do you think people do with pies, Jack! Huh?" Will was genuinely upset. He shook his head and leaned against the table, rubbing his temples and letting in long, deep breaths. He stood up and picked up Jack's plate and his own and set them away. Jack was feeling miserable.

"What do you want to do now..?" Will asked. Jack shrugged and began to fidget with his fingers. His head bowed and he stared at his feet. "You want to play, Jack?" Jack shrugged again, then shook his head. He wobbled a little and slowly slid out of the wooden chair he was sitting in…

"I think Ah'm tired, Will Turn Er."

"You want to have a nap time right now?"

"N'yeah."

Will nodded and Jack wobbled to the stairs and went up the stairs and into his room.

After a couple of hours, Jack didn't come downstairs from his room… Will wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. After all, it was a little later than usual and they did have a long day. Will decided against being worried, after all… Jack's probably just tired. Will finished cleaning up the kitchen before he, too, went upstairs to sleep.

––––

Jack didn't wake Will up the next morning… and Will was just now getting used to waking up hear Jack's voice calling, "Wake up!" But today, there was none of that, and so, Will crept into Jack's room and he looked Jack.

Jack was lying in bed, his eyes were wide open.

"Jack…?" Will asked. Jack did not respond, instead he was overtaken by a very harsh coughing fit. Jack coughed violently into his mouth and just as it was over, he took in a loud, deep breath. Will noticed Jack's face began to turn a deep shade of red and the pirate's eyes widened as he struggled to breath before he was taken over again by an uncontrollable coughing fit. When it had passed, he turned his head towards Will and gazed at him sorrowfully, still not saying a word. His nose was runny, and his eyes were a deep, red color. Will leaned against the doorframe and swore under his breath… "Whooping cough?" He groaned. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Jack coughed again and his coughing fit was followed by that loud breath intake. Will came to sit on Jack's bedside and he rubbed the pirate's forehead gently. He paused for minute… "Jack! You have a fever." The pirate did not say anything; he just continued to stare at Will with an expression full of misery. Jack sniffed. Will reached into one of the pockets of his robe and he pulled out a handkerchief that he kept with him at all times. He moved to cover Jack's nose with it. "Okay, blow."

Jack blew noisily and Will turned his head… He was beginning to feel sullied once Jack had finished and the handkerchief was now cold and wet. Will just scrunched his nose at it and he held it delicately with the tips of his index finger and thumb. _Ew._ "Okay Jack, I'll be back.. I'm going to make you some soup…"

Will moved the handkerchief, still pinching it between his finger and thumb, and he ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, throwing the dirtied handkerchief in the sink to clean it later… He busied himself right away and hurried to make a bowl of soup for Jack, who was still groaning in bed.

When the soup was ready, he poured it in a small bowl and walked it up to Jack's room. Jack had not moved an inch since Will had left him… He stayed perfectly still in the exact same position, he was in earlier that morning. "Jack…" Will knocked on the doorframe, hoping that was stir up some movement in the pirate. To his surprise, Jack did not even twitch…

Will sat on the corner of Jack's bed and he held out a wooden spoon full of soup. Jack wiggled underneath the sheets and pushed himself to sit up. He then opened his mouth to receive the incoming spoonful of soup. Will gently pressed it into Jack's mouth and the pirate swallowed eagerly. He did not speak, but Will could tell that Jack wanted more…

He spoon-fed Jack every drop of soup in the bowl and when Jack finished eating, the pirate laid back down on the sheets and succumbed to the sleep that had been tugging at his eyes for hours. Will smiled when he saw the pirate's eyes drop shut and he leaned over to place a soft kiss on Jack's forehead. At first, he did not think he would be able to handle a sick Jack… but he thought after a while, a sick Jack was more mellow and easier to look after than a Jack that was feeling good. Either way, he would rather take a healthy, happy Jack any day.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I had to do some extensive research about the "Whooping cough" before I posted this...

(Of course, I had to twist the symptoms a little to fit in the story the way I wanted it to... x.x.)

I'm not a doctor or anything, and I'll bet half of the people in aren't doctors, so it really doesn't matter if I get the prognosis right or not...

But I'm just... a perfectionist like that. x.x I wanted it to make sense. Somewhat... at least.

R & R.

Thank you so much. (:

- Rawiyah

And by the way... tell me if you catch some typos!  
I always re-read my work about five or six times over... but there's always one or two typos that get missed!  
If you see any, please be a good sport and tell me about it! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Strange items that sit around the house…

This day felt so lonely. For the first time since Jack arrived, Will did not know what to do with himself… as Jack slept, he tried reading books, writing letters or practicing with his swords. Three hours flew by so quickly that it almost felt like minutes had gone since he had left Jack to sleep…

He sat on the couch and absently stared out the window… He hadn't had very many commissions this week so far, and though he was ever so grateful for it at first… he was now beginning to wish that business would pick up speed, if not for the money, at least for the sake of his own sanity.

There was a knock at the door, and it shook Will from his calmness. He picked himself up and casually walked to the door to slowly pull it open… and there she was again.

"Hullo, Will." Elizabeth gave a charmingly polite smile and she glanced into the house. "I'm not distracting you at all, am I?"

"Oh no! Come in…" Will practically pulled her into the house and he slammed the door behind her. "Oh god. I've missed you so much…!" It was all he could do to keep himself from sounding lonely. Elizabeth smiled and she leaned in to place a kiss on his lips, but just before their lips made contact, a loud coughing sound could be heard from upstairs…

"What was that?" Elizabeth looked around curiously, not sure, if that sound was something she heard in her head or if her dear William was not alone…

"Oh… uhm…" Will made an exaggerated fake cough and he fanned himself afterwards. "I'm so…" He coughed. "Sorry… " Cough. "I've just been having these really strange" Cough. "Coughing fits. Whew. But I'm better now!" He smiled and desperately tried to keep Elizabeth from being suspicious…

His attempts, however, had all failed when Jack yelled down from upstairs for Will. Elizabeth turned to glare at Will and she scowled as she lifted her skirts and climbed up the steps slowly to Jack's room… as, she was not quite sure of what to expect.

Just as she was about to push open the door to peer inside, Will came running up behind her and he pulled her back.

"Don't look!"

"William Turner! What are you hiding from me…?"

"It's nothing…! Really, it isn't!" Will pulled Elizabeth closer to him and held her tightly, keeping her from turning her head and seeing Jack through the slightly cracked door. "It's just some business that I need to take care of…"

"William! You have someone else in this house besides me…" She didn't know why she was repeating the obvious, but she felt it'd strengthen the next point she was to make.

"… yeah. I do."

"And you think that I shouldn't have any right to know about it?"

"He's only here for another week, though, Dear!"

"Let go of me!" Elizabeth wiggled against him and broke free of his grasp. As soon as she turned, she threw open the door. Jack screamed; a loud, piercing screech that he made at the top of his lungs and he dove under the sheets to avoid being seen. Thankfully for him, too, he had moved so quickly that the only sight of him that Elizabeth caught was his two feet as the poked out from underneath the sheets. After his scream, he fell into another harsh, uncontrollably coughing fit and he took a violent gasp of air before coughing again. "Oh woah…" Elizabeth's eyes widened… "I didn't mean to frighten him."

"It's okay… He just… gets like that sometimes." Will chewed his bottom lip and he saw that Jack was physically shaking from beneath the sheets. "I'm babysitting. He's just… a little sick right now, and he doesn't like strangers…"

"Who is he?" Elizabeth inquired.

"He's… uhm…" Will pulled the first word that came to his head. "My brother."

"Brother?"

"My baby brother."

"Since when did you have a brother…?"

"We have different fathers."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"How old is he...?"

"Uhm..." Will tried to think about Jack's behavior... how old did Jack act? Five? Six...? "He's twelve."

"Twelve?"

"Yeah... He's just... really tall."

They left the room quietly and went downstairs to talk. It only lasted a few more hours or so before Jack began crying loudly from the upstairs and Elizabeth took that as her queue to leave. Will waved to her from an open window before slowly climbing up the stairs to check on Jack again…

––––

Will scrubbed at Jack's back with a sudsy, wet cloth and Jack moaned softly. As Will rubbed Jack's back with the washing cloth, Jack blew spit bubbles though his mouth and giggled softly. His long dreadlocks fell over his face and they were wet and dripping. Jack glanced around the bathroom and he smiled when his eyes caught sight of something that snagged his attention.

"Will Turn Er?"

"Hm?" Will was still very concentrated on getting Jack clean in the bath water…

"What is that?" Jack pointed to the glass jar that sat on a shelf a couple of feet away from them. Will glanced over Jack's should to see what it was that the pirate was pointing to…

"Oh that? That's just a jar of dirt from Trinidad."

"Jar of dirt…?" Jack repeated.

"Mhm." Will turned Jack around and poured more hot water on the pirate's back before adding more soap. He lifted Jack's arm and began scrubbing away at the pirate's chest.

"That is a jar of dirt?"

"Mhm."

"Can I have it…?"

"What would you do with a jar of dirt?"

"Mud pies."

"No."

Jack pouted as Will continued washing him. Once Jack had been entirely cleaned, Will threw a freshly dried towel over the pirate's head and led Jack as he stepped out from the tub. He dried the pirate, clothed him then put him back to bed within minutes.

Jack sighed and snuggled further into the warm sheets. He closed his eyes and smiled when he felt Will's lips press against his forehead.

"Will Turn Er?" Jack whispered.

"Hm?"

"Ye called me yer brother today."

"Yeah, I did, Jack."

"… do ye really like me that much, Will Turn Er?"

"Yeah. I do, Jack."

Jack smiled, and his golden teeth sparkled in the moonlight.

"Ah've always wanted to have me a brother, ye know."

"You make a great baby brother, Jack."

"Ye really mean it?"

"Yes." When Will saw Jack's smile, he could have sworn that all of the hard work he put into keeping Jack safe was definitely worth it. He kissed Jack on the forehead again and wished the pirate sweet dreams. Jack's eyes never opened the whole time, yet his smile stayed in place, as if his face was glued in position.

Will smiled too and he closed the door only slightly so that he could still hear Jack's voice if he called.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I have none.

Thank you so much for your very sweet replies. (:  
I look forward to reading more! *Hint hint*

Thanks again!

- Rawiyah


	8. Chapter 8

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC

* * *

Chapter Eight: Older, Wiser folk of knowledge…

Will received a telegram:

" Will Turner:

We are running a little behind.

The curse is complicated. Like a spell rather than something we can break.

We need you to keep our Captain for one more week.

Thank you so much!

- Anamaria & The Crew. "

William was not sure, if he should be rejoicing that his time with Jack would be lasting much longer, or if he should be upset… After all, he loved having Jack around very much, but he was starting to miss his old life. He was missing those long nights when it was just him and Elizabeth.

He caught himself before he surrendered to the lush memories and he shook them from his mind. "Jack!" He called. There was no response other than the loud, coughing fit and those deep, sharp gasps for breath. Will took that as a sign that Jack was at least awake already…

He climbed up the stairs slowly… still very tired from their previous night. When he came to the door of Jacks room, he leaned on the doorframe and let out a long sigh through his nostrils. Jack held his tongue and kept quiet, not wanting to start up another coughing fit.

"How are you feeling, Jack?" Will asked in a low whisper and he came to sit on the corner of the bed that Jack laid in. Jack only nodded slowly. "Hungry?" Jack shook his head… he dare not speak a word, for fear he might go into another coughing fit. Will lightly brushed his hand over Jack's as it laid motionless on the covers. Will smiled, "Alright, you just give me a shout if you need anything…" Jack nodded in response.

Will left the room… feeling more worried than he was before. He missed the freedom that he had without Jack… He was beginning to miss everything. He looked back at the door and he heard Jack coughing uncontrollably again. He sighed. There was not anything more that Will wanted to do but to help Jack get better… but nothing that he kept with him was working. Jack's coughing fits began to last longer… sometimes he'd cough up to at least fifteen or twenty times before the fit passed. Just the other night, Jack was coughing so harshly that he could barely breathe and his gasps in between were sounding more like long, loud yelps. Jack's face would turn a bright, burning red and his eyes would begin to water… Oftentimes he would clutch at Will's hand whenever he grew scared because he could not breathe…

Will gnawed at his bottom lip, he felt stuck. Jack was terribly sick, and Anamaria and the crew would be back sometime next week. He was not sure if Jack was going to last that long… and he found himself in a position where he really needed help.

"Jack!" Will called from downstairs, hoping that even though Jack did not give a verbal response, that the pirate was at least awake and listening. "I'm going to go run a few errands! I'll be back very soon!" Will did not want to imagine what horrified look might have been on the pirate's face when he heard Will calling to him. However, he shook it off and threw on his coat. He would rather leave Jack alone for a few minutes and get some help rather than stay by Jack's bedside and watch him erode.

––––

Will pounded on the door ferociously.

"Governor Swann!" He called. "Governor Swann!" He heard footsteps from the other side of the wood and felt a sudden relief of tension… He raised his eyebrows at the sudden realization that he did not know he was even tense to begin with!

The door opened, and the long, curly powered wig poked out from behind the shadows of the door and a familiar voice was heard,

"William?" The Governor's voice called. Mr. Swann then pushed the door away and revealed himself to a still, twitchy and agitated Will Turner. "Why, what a pleasant surprise. I'll go get Elizabeth…" The Governor turned away to leave but Will held out his hand to stop him.

"No! I didn't come to see Elizabeth."

Governor Swann turned his head and raised his eyebrow. He looked at Will curiously before speaking,

"What did you come for then, Mr. Turner?"

"I came for knowledge." Will's head lowered a little and he felt his cheeks blush. This would be a fairly embarrassing conversation to have with the Governor, but he felt it would be his only option. "You've raised a child before…"

"What?" As Will expected, the Governor may have misinterpreted the situation…

"I'm baby sitting my brother, and he's sick…" Will let out a long breath that he did not know he was holding in when he saw the Governor's face soften. "… My brother has whooping cough and it doesn't seem to be going away."

"Whooping cough, eh?" The Governor's lips curled a little into a small smile and he let Will come inside the house.

. . .

"How long has it been like this?"

"Just two days, Sir…" Will tapped his foot impatiently. "Is there anything I can do to make it better?"

"No, not really… Elizabeth had whooping cough when she was an infant, you know… Poor thing, she coughed for hours and she would turn so red in the face…" At this point Will disregarded whatever the Governor was saying,

"Governor Swann, please… " Will interrupted. "I left Jack at home alone…" Will immediately chomped his teeth down onto his betraying tongue… He prayed that the Governor did not hear that name.

"…Jack?"

"Yes!" Will's eyes darted around the room as he tried to come up with a good cover… "His name is Jack." The Governor nodded slowly… Will was worried about the hesitation he saw in the old man's eyes, but he fought his best to not show that on his own expression.

"Well, I can only tell you that the biggest thing is time."

"Time!" Will lowered his volume. "… Sir?"

"Give it time and it'll just go away on its own."

"Okay, Thank you, Sir!" Will did not wait any longer before turning on his heels and nearly running out of the house.

––––

"Jack!" Will called as he closed the door behind him. He looked around the house and was glad to see that nothing had moved. "Jack, I'm back!" He waited for a response from upstairs… but he did not hear a sound. He could not even hear Jack's muffled coughs.

Will rushed to take off his coat and he flung it to the floor, not bothering to hang it up before he sprinted up the stairs with all speed and ran into Jack's room. Thankfully, Jack had not gone anywhere, and he laid in the bed, his entire body was still in the same position that Will had left him in…

"Oh Jack…" Will sat on Jack's bedside and he scooped the pirate's cold, frail hand in his. "I miss the fun games we used to play…" The pirate's eyelashes fluttered for a few moments and he saw Jack attempt to smile. The pirate still did not want to say anything. Will did not want to tempt Jack to speak… it would surely break his heart to see Jack clutching for air during another coughing attack. "… How about a book, eh?" Will patted the back of Jack's hand and he stood up to fetch a book from the downstairs study…

When he returned to Jack's room, the pirate was sitting up straight, and very wide-awake. Will smiled and he came to sit on Jack's bedside again…

"Oooh. Look at this one," He read the title aloud, "Three Little Pigs." Jack's eyes grew wide with fascination and he gave Will a toothy grin, showing all of his teeth, gold and what not. Will slowly parted the cover and the first page and he began reading to an overly excited Jack.

He went through nearly five other fantasy stories before Jack had fallen asleep with his head on Will's shoulder. William smiled…

"I guess we'll just… call it a day, then?" He laid Jack back down onto the mattress and gently pulled the sheets over the sleeping pirate. Will gritted his teeth as he saw Jack turn over in his sleep and whimper softly… He remembered the Governor's words and they played back in his mind…

"_**Give it time and it'll just go away on its own…"**_

"But I don't have that much time…" Will whispered to himself.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Again, I had to do some extreme research on "whooping cough".

I had a hard time figuring out how to incorporate Jack's recovery in this story. I mean, nowadays it's a lot easier to recover with all of the technology we have now... But I had to figure out how Jack was going to recover without the drugs and such.

Historically, Whooping Cough does go away within a few weeks or a few days.

Anyway... Review Replies anyone? :

Cerisa:  
Thank you so much for your continuing support! I really appreciate it very much and I'm so glad that you are enjoying this story so far! It really drives me to continue writing when you leave such sweet reviews.

Zoeiy3:  
Welcome there, new reader! I'm so glad that you liked the story so much. Thank you again for adding it to your favorites! To anwser your question, I usually will not abandon a story unless it's not receiving reviews and is fairly dead already anyway. No, I have not abandoned this Fic and I plan to finish this one really soon. Keep staying posted for updates to this fic. (I usually update daily.)

Sue:

You're a dear! Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews and I'm so glad that you are enjoying this story that much. C:

To all who've read this far but have been afraid to Review:

I love when people R & R. It fuels me to continue writing, and I especially love when you leave little ideas here and there for me to eat off from.

It helps a lot and is greatly appreciated! Thank you, all.

- Rawiyah


	9. Chapter 9

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Nine: Still Concerning the "Little" One…

To Will's surprise and utter joy, Jack had began speaking again, though he was still very heavily attacked by that uncontrollable coughing.

"Will Turn Er!" Jack called with a harsh, gruffly voice. Will was busy rubbing Jack's back down with soap and hot water… The steam from Jack's bath rose up and clouded above them.

"Yeah, Jack?" Will rubbed a bar of soap under the pirate's arm and Jack giggled a little, making Will crack a smile.

"I feel better, Will Turn Er." Jack took in a deep breathe, then let it out very slowly… "I can breathe, ye know!"

"I see that, Jack."

"Will Turn Er?"

"Stand up for a minute, Jack." Jack stood and Will began to wash away at the pirate's legs.

"Will…"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"I realized something today…"

"What was that?"

"I really like being here with ye."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I like you being here, Jack."

"Will?"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"Can I ask ye something…?"

"You've been asking me something for the past couple of minutes."

Jack fell silent and he allowed the blacksmith to form fluffy puffs of soap bubbles all over his wet body… Will sighed.

"Yeah, you can ask me a question."

"Good," Jack grinned. "Can I stay here with ye?"

The soap suddenly became too slippery and Will dropped it into the bath water with his jaw hanging open. He was dumbstruck… and he did not know how to answer the pirate.

"Uhm…" Will could not even string together a sentence… "Uh… so…" He did not want it to be so obvious that he was avoiding the question. "You can stay for now."

"Can I stay forever?"

"Let's just finish your bath now, okay?"

"Okay."

The rest of bath time was done in complete silence, except for the occasional coughing fit that Jack went into. Again, this afternoon seemed completely dead… there wasn't any time for play time and Jack was still very sick, though improving a lot in the past few days.

––––

"Will Turn Er!" Jack called to William from the staircase.

"What?"

"Lookit me!" Jack squealed and he waved to Will to make sure that he was looking, and then barrel-rolled down the stairs, falling slowly until his rear hit the wood of the floor beneath him. Jack sat up and grinned, though it was obvious that the pirate was very dizzy… "See?"

"Wow…" Will was not enthused at all. He wasn't even trying to make it seem like he was. He just sat the table, sipping tea and covering his ears tightly when he heard Jack coughing and wheezing again. Will felt disconnected… but he soon became reconnected when Jack's loud voice rang through his ears…

"Will! Wanna see me do it again?"

"No, Jack… I think that's all I want to see for now." Jack gave a very faint, mumbling 'okay' and he jumped over to where Will was sitting at the table with his fingertips massaging his temples.

"Will Turn Er?"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"Do ye think ye could be my father…?" Jack grinned, "Er, brother? Whichever ye like the most?"

Will's immediate answer would have been 'no'. Jack was too much of a handful. One minute he was lying in bed, sick as an old man in the cold and now he was so hyperactive that Will could barely keep up with him. The blacksmith shook his head slowly, not in a response to Jack's question, but just out of habit.

"I'm tired, Jack." Will croaked out softly.

"I promise I'll be good to ye…" Jack begged. "I won't ever do ye no harm. I swears it."

Will tucked Jack into bed tightly, folding each sheet into the sides of the bed frame with delicate care. He looked at the pirate with and gave a soft smile.

"I know you would, Jack…" He leaned over to kiss the pirate's forehead. Jack, however, continued to ramble on, though he already knew well by now, that a kiss on his forehead with Will's way of saying 'goodnight'.

"And I'd do everythin' for ye!" Jack called to Will as the blacksmith was leaving the house. "I swears it! I won't be any problem to ye at all, Mate!"

"Goodnight, Jack!" Will closed the door, and Jack became silent. However, his coughing rang out throughout the house all night long.

. . .

"Wake-" Jack was taken over by a powerful coughing fit and he wheezed a moment then two and then after a few minutes, he continued… "Up!"

Will laughed whole-heartedly and he threw his arms around Jack, who was kneeling at his bedside with wide, bright eyes.

"It's great to have you feeling better now, Jack."

Jack hugged Will back, almost refusing to let go… but he slowly parted from the blacksmith after a few seconds. Jack smiled and lowered his head to stare at his feet… he then opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, rethinking his decision to say anything. He only ended up opening his mouth again anyway…

"Will Turn Er?"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"Can I **please** stay with ye? I don't want to go back to me father…"

"You're staying with me now."

"No, nononono! I want to stay with ye forever. I like ye so much better than I like me father, and I want to live here with ye!" As soon as the volume in Jack's voice heightened a little, he suddenly found himself under another coughing attack… this was another bad one.

They both paused a minute to let Jack cough, and Will stretched out his hand for Jack to grab and clutch if he needed to. The pirate coughed, coughed and then the telltale "whooping" gasp followed before he coughed again. The pirate was running out of air and his loud yelps grew louder and his coughs, harsher. Jack has had some pretty bad episodes previous… but this one was the worse, and Jack coughed so harshly that long strings of saliva began to drip from his mouth and his face was turning red.

William readied his handkerchief. Jack squeezed Will's hand in such a tight grip that the blacksmith was afraid he might break something. The pirate continued to cough, and tears were glistening as they slid down his deep, red cheeks. Mucus and saliva also appeared on Jack's face and they mixed to create a clear slime that dropped from the pirate's mouth and slid to his throat…

For five long minutes of non-stop coughing, Will held on to Jack's hand and patted the pirate's back in an attempt to comfort Jack… After the fit had passed Jack's lips curled to create a frown and he sniffed.

"Shh…" Will whispered. "It's okay now." Will gently placed the handkerchief over Jack's swollen lips and he began to wipe away Jack's tears, mucus and saliva. It no longer bothered William to wipe off the pirate's gooey face… it felt like second nature now, and he was not grossed out anymore. Jack's eyes were now as red as his face and the pirate whined deeply in his throat.

Then Jack did something that Will hasn't seen him do in quite a while… The pirate threw back his head and cried aloud. He completely bawled, and tears streamed so freely down his cheeks that he looked soaked with rain. Will turned and he rubbed Jack's back softly. The pirate only cried even harder… again, Will had gotten used to the wailing, and he no longer cared if his neighbors could hear Jack crying. He had told them all the same lie, that he was babysitting his baby brother, he suspected that they already felt his pain.

Will pulled Jack onto the bed and led the pirate into a warm embrace. "Shh…" He slowly petted the man's head and rocked Jack back and forth… Though, Jack continued to sob, coughing a little here and there, he was getting a little more relaxed, and after a while he went completely limp in Will's arms. Will hummed softly as he continued to rock Jack long after he had stopped crying. "How are you now…?"

"Me th-throat hurts, W-Will Turn Er."

"I can imagine." Will rubbed Jack's back and Jack moaned softly. "After all that coughing you did! Come now, Ill make you some warm broth to sooth that…" Will helped Jack to his feet and he held Jack's hand tightly in his. Will led the pirate downstairs and into the kitchen, where Jack sat down at the table and remained silent.

They ate broth for breakfast and saved whatever else they had for lunch. This was another lazy day… Will had no customers and no commissions. Elizabeth did not visit and so, he and Jack read books, and they played together… but their adventures were not as fun as before. They had to drop anchor every thirty minutes because Jack would be overcome by a heavy coughing fit and Will had to wipe the pirate's face afterwards and clean him up again. After a few hours of playtime, Jack had asked Will to read to him the story of the 'Three Little Pigs'. Jack enjoyed it.

Night time came before they knew it, but before it was time to blow out the ights, Will turned to Jack and kissed the pirate o the forehead. Jack rubbed his forehead and he pouted.

"Don't do that, Will Turn Er." Jack continued to rub at his forehead where Will had kissed him and he poked out his lower lip, still pouting as he usually did.

"You keep asking about staying here with me…" Jack's eyes widened and he smiled, he almost seemed to beam with hope and it broke Will's heart to have to tell him something so cruel.

"Will Turn Er.." Jack interrupted. "Before ye continue… I jus' wanted to tell ye that ye've been the best brother ah've ever had and I really like being with ye, mate!" Jack paused a minute, thinking of something else to say before he added, "Ye don't have to keep me if ye don't want to… Me father didn't keep me. I understand."

Jack certainly knew how to tug on Will's heartstrings… whether it be on purpose or on accident, it didn't matter.

"Jack…"

"N'yeah?"

"… never mind."

"Okay, Will Turn Er!" And Jack left to go on with his own business.

––––

Elizabeth showed up at the door the next day, her hair put up in a large, neat bun and her best evening gown on. In her hands, she held a basket full of new toys. Will automatically knew what she was doing.

"Aren't you going to ask me to come in?" Elizabeth grinned and Will realized that he had, in fact, not asked her to come inside and he did, closing the door behind her as she entered. "Where's your baby brother? I have these new toys for him…"

"Oh. He's asleep right now…"

"Will Turn er!" Jack's voice echoed throughout the house and Will could have sworn that the pirate's voice had gotten louder since Elizabeth stepped through the door.

"Hullo, Dear!" Elizabeth called back to the faceless voice. Jack fell silent… wherever he was, he knew better than to let himself be seen by Elizabeth. He turned and hid behind a wide open door. Elizabeth followed the direction that Jacks voice originally came from.

"Hey, why don't you just leave that here and I'll get it to him." Will tried to take the basket from Elizabeth's hands, but she tugged on it tightly and jerked it away. She gave Will a nasty look and shook her head.

"I want to meet him. After all, he is my going to be my brother-in-law." Elizabeth raised her noise and turned her back to Will to continue looking for Jack. "What's your brother's name, Dear…?" Will gave up, and he wasn't going to try to hide Jack any longer.

"His name is Jack."

"Jack!" Elizabeth called. "Where are you, Sweetie?" She set down the basket and continued to tiptoe softly, as to not frighten Jack again like the last time. "Jack! Come out and meet Auntie Elizabeth." Jack panicked and he tried to hide himself in the shadow of the door… He felt like a fox surrounded by dogs during hunting season and he didn't know what to do.

Will followed Elizabeth very close by and he kept his eyes sharp, as he was looking for Jack too. Jack continued to hide behind the open door and he waited until he could see Will to come out again.

"Yoo Hoo!" Elizabeth called in a sing-song voice. "Where are you, Sweetie?" Jack poked his head out from behind the door and peered around the room, Will's back was facing him as well as Elizabeth's, but still, Jack ran out from behind the door, crying. He ran to William and clutched the blacksmith's waist tightly and he cried, feeling threatened by Elizabeth's presence.

Elizabeth heard his crying and she turned and began to say, "Oh there you a…" She fell silent and suddenly, she recognized his tan skin, his long dreadlocks… but most importantly the black kohl that covered his eyelids. "It's you…"

"No, it's not what you think it is!" Will grabbed Jack's face and tried to hide it from Elizabeth's view, but it was much too late by now… as she had already seen enough of him that she needed to.

"Jack Sparrow!"

* * *

Author's Notes:

I'm so sorry for any sloppiness previous to this!  
I have no idea how it happened, but I had a little (actually, it was huge.) typo earlier.

Some of my Chapter 9 content leaked onto the Chapter 8 submission.

It's fixed now, so if you were confused, it should all make some sense now!  
Again, sorry for the inconvenience! It's a nuisance to me too, to have to go into the HTML codes and fix everything up!

Again, I always re-read my work a bagillion of times over... but there is always one or two things that I miss.

If you catch anything, please be a good sport and let me know!

Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Ten: There's complications in the system…

"It's you…" Her voice was just above a whisper and she turned around… her backed face both Will Turner and the sobbing pirate that he held. She felt as though all of her breath had been sucked from her and she began to pant softly…

"Elizabeth, it's not like you think!" Will called to her, his hand was still on Jack's face and he was still trying to hide Jack from her.

"You're harboring a fugitive…" She raised her volume a little and shook her head. "You're… doing something against the law!"

"It's not as bad as you think, Elizabeth!"

"It is exactly as bad as I think, Will!"

By now, Jack had fallen silent, but his tears still streamed down his face.

"No, Elizabeth just list…" He was cut off by her voice, which raised dramatically in volume so much that she was nearly yelling at William.

"You could go to the gallows for this!" Her eyes widened at the thought and suddenly a look of utter horror washed over her face like a sudden downpour. "You **and** Jack could go to the gallows if they caught you!"

"Eliza-"

"I can't loose you to the noose, Will!"

"What do you want me to do, then, Huh?"

"Send him back! No one will ever know he was here!"

"Send him back? To where!"

"Wherever it was that he came from!"

Jack slipped away from the arguing couple… he felt guilty, knowing that it was him that they were arguing about. Jack slowly turned a corner and hid under the table in the kitchen… His body shook as though he were standing in the cold, and the tears continued to stream down his face as he cried silently…

"He'll leave me…" Jack whispered to himself. "He'll leave me for that strumpet." The word melted from Jack's tongue with a heated, passionate hatred.

_"Ah! That jus' ain't true, Jackie!"_

"…wha?"

Jack saw his old imaginary friend, a replica of himself, squatting down in front of him with a playful smile on his face. "I said that jus' ain't true! You know it ain't, Jackie!"

"What ar' ye doing here…?" Jack asked the doppelganger. The copy grinned and he gestured for Jack to come from under the table. Jack was hesitant at first, but he eventually crawled out and squatted beside his ghostly counterpart.

_"Ah've seen how he treats ye, Jackie. Hell, ye hardly ever play with me anymore now that he's here."_

"Ye're a terrible playmate, Aye."

_"Ah'm not!"_

"Ar' too and ye know it! Ye're not anymore fun than a jar of dirt!"

_"Aye, but we all know ye love dirt, Jackie."_

"That's why I love ye." Jack smirked, his sentence was oozing with sarcasm and his counterpart only responded with a loud, sarcastic laugh. They both sat in silence for a while, but they could both still, very clearly, hear Elizabeth and Will arguing in the other room… Apparently, they haven't even noticed that Jack was absent. "Ye hear that?" Jack asked his doppelganger…

_"Nah. I don't hear a thing."_

"Ye never were the sharpest knife in the drawer…"

_"Hey now! Don't go insulting me like that, Mate. Not after all I've done for ye."_

Jack changed the subject. "They don't even notice that ah'm gone, mate…"

_"Once they're done fightin' they'll notice ye've gone missing."_

"Ah'm done with you…" Jack mumbled.

_"Wha? But I haven't even done anythin'."_

"Ye're just annoying… "

_"Ah'm not!"_

"Ye ar' too and ye know it!"

The fighting stopped and both Jack and his copy fell silent when they heard Will's voice calling for him.

_"Ah'm a leave now, Mate."_

"T'was nice seein' ye."

_"Ye too."_

The doppelganger faded off into the light that shone through the open window, and to too long before that, Elizabeth came bursting through the kitchen door, her hair that was so nicely, neatly done when she first came in, was now halfway to her back and it frizzed out in all directions… Jack could even see a little glistening of sweat running from her forehead. She panted and turned her head the opposite direction.

"I found him, Will!" She yelled. "He's here…"

"Now Jack…" Will was the only one speaking and the three of them all sat down together in Jack's room. Elizabeth sat quietly in the wooden chair with her hands folded and her head bowed slightly. She never fixed her bun, and her hair still stuck to her face and frizzed. Will, however, sat on Jack's bedside next to Jack himself and he continued to speak… "Elizabeth is going to help me care for you now, okay?"

"Why, Will…?" Jack mumbled softly, not wanting Elizabeth to hear what he said.

"Well, Jack, because I need some help and Elizabeth volunteered to help." Jack slowly peered over Will's shoulder to glare daggers at the woman. Elizabeth snarled back and poked her tongue out playfully. Jack began to shake and he shook Will's shoulders urgently.

"Look, Will! She poked her tongue at me… Why tha' little whore."

Will instinctively smacked the pirate upside the head, causing Jack to groan.

"Hey! We don't use that kind of language here."

"Will… I don't think he'll be comfortable with me here." Elizabeth intervened. Will looked back at her, shaking his head.

"He'll learn."

"Will… he's …" She paused, hating how awkward and strange it sounded… "he's just… a kid."

"That's no excuse!" Will grabbed Jack by the nape of his neck and shook Jack harshly, but gently enough to not cause any physical damage. "He'll learn." Jack only continued to pout. "I have business that I need to take care of… and I can't drag Jack along with me."

Elizabeth sighed. "Hurry back, Will."

"Will Turn Er!" Jack cried. "Don't go!"

Will Turner left anyway… and Jack sobbed. Elizabeth pulled her hair into a bun and prepared herself for any difficulty that this pirate could dish out.

––––

When Will returned he hovered his hand over the doorknob, but stopped when he heard an ear-splitting scream coming from Elizabeth on the other side.

Panicked, he threw open the door and yelled, "Elizabeth!"

"I'll protect ye, Princess!" Jack jumped onto the couch where Elizabeth was lying and he held up his wooden sword and whacked at the open air in front of them. "I won't let tha' evil dragon get at ye!" Will nearly drowned in his relief and he smiled.

"Welcome back, Will!" Elizabeth smiled. "We're just playing Sleeping Beauty…"

"Oh hey! I remember that game…" Will chuckled, finally glad that they had an actual girl to play the part of Sleeping Beauty. Jack roared in triumph when he determined that the 'dragon' was dead and he pulled Elizabeth from the couch and led her to his favorite spot on the stairs. He claimed that they were not on the stairs, but they were in a mystical castle, safe from all of the other beasts.

"Aren't you going to kiss me now, Jack?" Elizabeth fluttered her eyes. Inwardly, she tried to stop laughing… it felt great for the first time, she was the one asking Jack for a kiss and the pirate completely _refused_ to even look at her strange. "But Jack! The Prince is **always** supposed to kiss the Princess."

"Not this one!" Jack huffed proudly and turned his head when Elizabeth leaned in to kiss his cheek. She just then noticed the absence of beard and mustache on the pirate.

"Oh, Jack! What's that over there?" She pointed to a random spot on the wall and immediately Jack turned his head in her direction.

"What?"

She placed a soft kiss on his cheek. The pirate had a very minor spasm and he wiped at his cheek where she kissed him. His face showed an expression of complete disgust and it made Elizabeth want to laugh over him.

Will soon joined in on their playtime, and he played Jack's sidekick. Elizabeth played the runaway princess who sailed with them on their boat… even though it was bad luck to have a woman onboard, Jack decided that for the game, it would be okay… Together, the three of them sailed again across the world from Asia to Africa, collecting all kinds of exotic treasures and fighting off demons and creatures of all sorts.

When night fell, after they had eaten their supper, Will tucked Jack into bed and came slumping down the steps to bid Elizabeth for a farewell for now.

"Will…" Elizabeth stopped before she was about to leave. "I never knew that Jack was so imaginative!"

"Yeah, I know." Will was almost surprised at the size of Elizabeth's eyes.

"I have the most fun tonight with you and Jack than I've had in a very long time…" She leaned in and kissed him passionately. Will returned the kiss and they stood there, their faces mashed up against each other's for a long time before they slowly broke apart to take deep, heavy breaths.

"Ah… I'll miss you so much tonight." He leaned his forehead against hers and Elizabeth giggled softly.

"I'll be back tomorrow." She pecked him on the lips softly. "I'll be here bright and early. You won't even notice I'm gone."

With that, she left and Will stood for a long time in the doorway, watching Elizabeth as she walked back to own house.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I don't have any.

R & R. Thanks.


	11. Chapter 11

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Where did they come up with those old sayings…?

"Evening, Commodore."

"Good evening, Governor." Commodore Norrington smiled and he peered over the old man's shoulder to see if he could catch even the slightest glimpse of Elizabeth. "Is… Elizabeth home?" He asked.

"No, not yet…" The Governor shook his head and sighed. "She's been spending most of her time with new fiancé."He sighed again, seeming… lost. "Elizabeth has always wanted to get married… why, I remember back to when she was just a little girl…" The Commodore stared blankly, trying to be polite as the old man rambled on and on about Elizabeth's childhood. "- and by the time she was about sixteen she said to me, 'Father…' and then I listened to her and I began to feel-"

"Governor, I am so sorry to interrupt you…" Norrington didn't usually mean to cut into the Governor's oh so fascinating stories… but he really did not feel like wasting him time listening to the old man talk. "… But do you know where Elizabeth is right now? I have something I would like to give to her."

"I thought I told you already, she's with her fiancé, you know, the blacksmith…" Governor Swann snapped his fingers a few times and closed his eyes as he tried to search for the name… "…eh.. Will! Will Turner."

"A name I could never forget." The Commodore mumbled softly. "Well, thank you so much. I best be on my way."

"Take care, Commodore." The door closed and left Norrington still standing outside. The Commodore left Elizabeth's residence and he wandered through the busy streets and made his way towards the blacksmith's house… thankfully for him, it was located right next to the shop. As Norrington made his way through crowds of busy people, he began to wonder to himself…

"Why, with all of the people here, surely there must be something for Elizabeth to do other than talk to Will all day and night… That's not like her. Even if she loves him… she wouldn't normally spend all hours of all day with him out of wedlock." The Commodore stopped talking to himself as he reached to door to the blacksmith's house. He lifted his hand to knock on the wood of the door, but paused when he heard a strangely familiar, drunken voice coming from the other side…

"Will! Hurry and take the princess! I will destroy this asteroid!"

Norrington's eyes widened at the sound of the voice… He could not quite match name to voice, but he knew it was a very familiar voice that he knew all too well… The name was at the tip of his tongue, but he could not seem to remember who it was. He grumbled softly, it did not matter anymore who it was that was in there with them… All that mattered was that Elizabeth was in a man's house with _two _men there. She and Will were not alone… and that bothered Norrington to no end.

He finally built up the courage to knock on the door and his suspicions grew as he heard the laughter from behind the door fall completely silent. His forehead furrowed and he curiously pressed his ear against the wood of the door. He heard Will's soft whisper…

"Go to your room, Jack."

Norrington's eyes widened and his heart raced. "Jack!" He whispered loudly, and as soon as the word escaped his lips, the door opened and Norrington fell headfirst.

"Oh! Are you alright, Commodore?" He asked as he knelt down beside James, who had at this point, stood up very quickly and dusted himself off.

"Where's Elizabeth?" James asked without even responding to the blacksmith's question.

"She's in the kitchen." Will gave Norrington a look, but the Commodore only shook his head in slight recovery from the fall.

"I need to speak with her now…"

"Uhm… alright." Will reached out to take Norrington's coat, but the Commodore only shoved himself away from the blacksmith and pushed his way through the doorframe and into the house. He led himself in the direction of the kitchen and his cold expression softened when he saw Elizabeth. She was standing over the table; her hair was put up in a usual bun. It was still very neat, and every hair on her head was perfectly in place. Her dress; a beautiful shade of lavender with a gorgeous hooked bodice that showed off her curves perfectly. Norrington almost melted at the sight. She stood over the table with her sleeves rolled up and a wet towel in her hand.

"Ah, Elizabeth… surely you aren't getting used to actually cleaning the table yourself!"

"James Norrington." Elizabeth tried to give a weak smile… but it only lasted a few seconds as she could not hold it that long. She really liked Norrington. He made a wonderful friend sometimes, of course, he was always overprotective of her, but still… she had a soft spot in her heart for him, but at this time… she wanted nothing more than to get him out of the house as soon as was possible. "What a pleasant surprise."

"I brought you a wedding gift. I know, it is early… but this one is special. From friend to friend." Norrington held out a small, brown box for Elizabeth, who in return picked it up and held it as though it were fragile. She smiled at him politely.

"Thank you."

"I heard you have some company over today…" Norrington inquired. He completely ignored Will, who was leaning against the doorframe that entered into the kitchen. Will ignored him in return, so between the two of them there was no ill will.

"Company…?" Elizabeth tried to make an exaggerated face of confusion. "No, its just me and Will today."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Other than you, we haven't had any visitors."

"Hm." Norrington paused a minute, he could tell when Elizabeth was lying… he knew her well enough by now. "I wonder whatever happened to that rogue pirate… what was his name?" He paused. "Oh yes… Sparrow. Jack Sparrow." He noted mentally that Elizabeth did not correct him and say 'captain'.

"I don't know." Elizabeth was getting quiet… He knew she wouldn't be able to continue with lying much longer…

"You don't know, or you won't tell me?"

"You think I'm lying!"

"I _know_ you're lying!"

Will suddenly knew that Norrington had somehow found out about Jack and without warning, he turned around and left the kitchen to go up the stairs and into Jack's room.

When Will entered, the pirate was safely hidden under the bed, his face was swallowed completely by shadows and nothing could be seen of him except for the beaming light that glowed in his eye.

"Is he gone…?" Jack whispered.

Will pressed his finger to his lips, signally to Jack to stay quiet. Everything went silent for a few long, tortuous moments. Then, Norrington burst through the door and demanded to see Jack Sparrow. When Jack caught a glimpse of the man, it was all he could do but to keep from laughing. After all, the bright, white powered wig and the deep, blue navy vest made him resemble an ice cream cone and Jack could not help but crack a smile at that.

"Where are you hiding him, Will!" This was no longer a question… but an order. Will shook his head and continued to repeat himself, saying that he did not know what the Commodore was talking about. Elizabeth followed behind James Norrington, who began to ransack the room completely. He tore the sheets from the bed and opened drawers, slamming them shut afterwards when they were empty. He dug through the closet and when he found nothing he pointed his finger in Will's face, just about to threaten the blacksmith… when…

Jack coughed. James' eyes flew towards the shadows from under the bed and he grinned wickedly. He pushed Will away and he began to approach the bed, ever so slowly…

"So there you are, Jack Sparrow!"

Jack only continued to scoot away, still trying to hide himself in shadow though it was long too late. James Norrington squatted in front of the bed and reached underneath, trying to grab Jack somewhere. As expected, he immediately felt the soft tickle of Jack's dreadlocks and he grabbed onto them tightly… causing the pirate to release a long, strident scream. Norrington smiled and he pulled Jack from under the bed by a large lock of hair.

"I knew it!" He shouted. He pulled Jack to his feet and grabbed him tightly by the waist so that the pirate would not attempt an escape. Jack stayed perfectly still and allowed himself to be moved like a puppet. Jack immediately knew that Norrington was, in fact, much bigger than Jack was… and Jack was not ready to take any chances.

"James!" Elizabeth screamed. "Please, let him go!" Will held Elizabeth back from lunging at him… Both of them knew it would not do anyone any good… and it would be putting Jack's life at even more risk. Norrington actually paused to think about it…

The Commodore began to loosen his grip on Jack and the pirate took in a sharp breath.

"Turner…" Norrington called. "Come with me, I'd like to speak with you privately…"

"Will you let Jack go for now, then?"

Norrington thought about it, and then he looked Jack, who was staring at his feet with a blank expression on his face. He shrugged and let go of Jack. Once Jack realized that he was released, he ran to Elizabeth and clutched her tightly.

"If he's not here when I get back…" He warned Elizabeth, "Your **fiancé** will suffer the consequences." Elizabeth did not respond, she only wrapped her arms around Jack's shoulders and snarled at James. He only shrugged and went with Will to the other room to talk.

Jack sat with his head on Elizabeth's shoulder and he did not say a single word since he was dragged from under the bed. Elizabeth rocked him gently and rubbed his back as she hummed the melody to that old song they were all familiar with.

––––

It felt like hours before Will finally returned to the room where Jack and Elizabeth sat on the bed. They both smiled at first… but then the feelings turned grey when they noticed Will's solemn face.

"Norrington and I made a deal." Will spoke. Elizabeth nodded for him to continue. "Jack and I can avoid being hanged… if… we postpone the wedding."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped and she stared… for a long time, not really knowing what to say.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry…"

* * *

Author's Notes:

Again, I'm so grateful for all of your wonderful reviews!

I had to look up the heights of the actual actors to make sure that I was getting their information correctly.

In case anyone of you were wondering, Jack Sparrow is the "shortest" character in this story.

Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow) - 5'10" (175 cm)

Jack Davenport (James Norrington) - 6' 2" (185 cm)

Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) - 5' 11" - (179 cm)

So, in case you wee inquiring about the whole "Is Norrington bigger than Jack?" The answer is yes. Yes, he is and I'm not making it up.

Review Replies, Anyone? :

Cerisa: Wah! I always look forward to reading your reviews because they always make me smile. (: No joke!

bigtimePOTCfan: Woo! Another new reader. C: Thank you for your review. And to answer your question, no, Jack is still the size of a regular man.


	12. Chapter 12

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: We're not going to sit here and rot…

As Jack laid in bed, soundly asleep… Will and Elizabeth were in the other room, discussing what they were to do about Jack.

"I don't think I can keep him here much longer…" Will chewed his bottom lip and he ran a hand through his thick hair. "I mean, I can't take him outside or anything, and now that Norrington knows that I have him here…"

"You can't help him leave either…" Elizabeth finished his sentence for him in a soft, breathy voice. "If you stay here with Jack, then you can't leave the house… No doubt, James had probably told my father some things and I'll probably need to stay at home more often than not."

"And I can't help Jack escape or Norrington will hang me for harboring a fugitive."

"I could lend you one of my servant ladies. They won't speak a word of Jack."

"No, I couldn't… surely your father would begin wondering why all of your maids keep coming to stay with me… That'd ruin my credibility."

"That only leaves you with one option then…" Elizabeth's eyes grew wide and she looked at Will, hoping; praying that he was not thinking what she was.

"I'll have to leave with Jack. Tonight." Will nodded slowly as the realization dawned upon him.

"B-but… where will you go?" Elizabeth's voice weakened even more and was so soft that it was straining Will's ears to actually hear her.

"I'll probably have to take him to a port… Or just a vacant island where I can chart out my maps and decide where to go from there."

Elizabeth looked at the ground and she took in a shaky breath. It almost hurt her physically to even ask him,

"When will I see you again?" She felt her eyebrows arch as she saw the blank expression that washed over Will's face. He shifted awkwardly and sighed…

"I don't know." He leaned over and rubbed his forehead… "I don't know.

––––

"Shh!" Elizabeth whispered to Will as the blacksmith dropped a rather large, heavy Jack into the dinghy. It was dark outside, and the only light was that from the moon, and the light that reflected from the ocean. "They'll hear you!" She tried so hard not to speak above a whisper, but she was heartbroken, and she felt that she may not be able to hide the tears that threatened to leak from her eyes, even though it was dark… and Will may not be able to see her eyes anyway, she still tried to hide her tears.

"We'll only be gone a few days." William did not look at her, instead he just took all of his packed up belongings and began to shove them away into the dinghy as it bobbed in the shallow waters at their feet.

"You can't really be leaving like this, Will…" Elizabeth could not hold it in any longer, and a lone tear slid down her cheek and glistened in the moonlight. William noticed it right away, and he cupped her cheek in his palm, drew her face close to his, and kissed her deeply. Jack wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned his head away. "I'll be back, Dear, before you know that I'm even gone!"

When the words left his lips, he turned around and hopped into the dinghy with Jack and they shoved off and floated into the open waters. Elizabeth waved to them from the shore and Jack waved back, and he whispered as loud as he possibly could…

"Goodbye, Fair Princess!"

It was not long before they were so far out in open water that Elizabeth could no longer be seen… Jack's heart sank and he leaned against the wooden side of the dinghy as they sailed for a destination that was unknown to Jack.

––––

"Are we there yet?"

"No." Will sighed.

"There yet?"

"No, Jack. Not there yet."

A couple of seconds went by…

"Now?"

"No!"

"Now…?"

"NO!" Will took in a sharp breath, then calmed down before speaking again… "I'll tell you when we get there."

"Okay."

There were a few moments of very sweet, pure silence between them.

"Are we _halfway_ there?"

Frankly, Will completely ignored Jack for the next few hours or so…

It was not until the sun had began to peak over the horizon when they had finally reached their destination. A small, random island that sat lazily on the water… by now Jack was fast asleep, his mouth was wide open and a thin line of drool was sliding out from the corner of his mouth as he stored soundly. Will rowed onto the shore and dropped the anchor of the dinghy.

"Come on, Jack…" He helped the pirate out of bed and Jack slumped over, as he was still half-asleep. Will pulled Jack from the boat and began to drag the sleeping pirate across the sand and into a vacant hut that sat safely hidden in greenery.

Will threw open the door and continued to drag Jack inside. He laid Jack on the floor and let the pirate continue sleeping… Once Jack was laid down, Will took a short pause to catch his breath… after all… Jack was not exactly light. He then moved out again to gather all of their possessions from the dinghy. Will was not making any plans to stay there very long… but in the meantime, he felt it was best they at least got comfortable.

He rolled out a map on one of the old, dusty tables, and a large cloud of dust flew out from underneath the old fabric. Will fanned it away and stared at the map, making little marks here and there with a feather pen. Jack continued snoring, completely oblivious to Will was doing.

Once the plans were made and the paths were chosen, Will set down the feather and rolled up the map again. He threw it idly onto the furniture nearby, and he grabbed the pirate who was sleeping on the floor by his underarms and dragged him to a bed.

They shared the bed that night, since it was the only one there, and both of them slept rather peacefully.

––––

The light that shone through the window almost burned Will's eyes. He moaned softly and fluttered his eyelashes for a moment before slowly peeking his eyes open… The first sound he heard surprised him very much.. it sounded like singing…. Drunken, singing…

"Seeling snells awong… garner heers in con… then wen wonning wong…"

Will blinked, at first thinking it was his imagination… but no. He forced himself to sit up and he noticed the absence of weight in the bed. Jack was sitting on the floor, blowing spit bubbles and singing this song in strange, baby-talk. It was something Will had not only not expected, but Will had not heard before.

"Sann song, selling sway, wen won in wey…" Jack continued singing. Then, Jack paused a moment and spat raspberries with his mouth, creating more white, foaming bubbles. He giggled.

"..Jack…?" Will whispered softly. "You're awake."

The pirate turned his head to face Will when he heard his name being called. He only stared blankly for a while, and then continued with his gibberish song. Will grunted and pulled himself out of bed.

"Come on, Jack…" The pirate either did not care, or did not understand because he blatantly neglected Will's statement and continued with whatever he was doing. Will was growing impatient, and he grabbed Jack's arm tightly and pulled the pirate to his feet. "Come on, Jack!" He spoke with louder volume, and a hint of annoyance.

Jack complied, but gave no verbal response. Will led the pirate to the other room where the map was laying on a couch. He snatched up the map and yanked it open, reviewing his notes from the other night.

"Okay Jack… We'll be sailing only for today and we should at least reach Tortuga by nightfall… We'll see if we can get some contact to your crew, and they'll come pick you up and you'll be safe."

Jack's eyebrows arched in confusion and he looked at Will questioningly.

"…my crew…?" Jack echoed.

Will mentally kicked himself for talking too much… In all honesty, he did not want Jack to know about his crew, his life as a pirate yet… especially since he had learned that Jack really did not want to be a pirate.

"Uhm… Is that what I said?" Will tried to change the subject as quickly as possible. "That's not what I meant to say…"

"Wha did ye mean to say, then?" Jack was sounding very serious now… almost too serious for a child and Will was nearly shaking with guilt. He could not bring himself to tell Jack anything yet, but he also could not bring himself to lie. He rubbed his forehead in frustration and he turned to Jack and sighed…

"Just forget it, Jack… pretend I never said anything." Will kicked himself again when he noticed that Jack's eyes widened as if he suddenly found out a really, deep, dark secret.

"Yer lyin' to me!" Jack cried. "Ye do know somethin'!"

"Jack!"

"Tell me! I have a crew?"

"Jack…." Will could not hold it in… and the truth began to leak from him like lava from an erupting volcano. "… You are under a curse! You think you are a child, but your not… You're a pirate and your crew cares about you so much that they left me with you to go and break the curse!"

The words were like daggers to Jack's body and the pirate found himself choked up … as he must've stopped breathing when Will had told him this.

"T-that's not true!"

"It is, Jack! I've sailed with you before, and you told me tons of wise things… My father was a pirate…"

Jack stopped processing Will's words through his mind, and it all because nothing but a blur. Jack's vision went fuzzy as well as tears formed in his eyes. He couldn't hear anything anymore, he could not feel… he couldn't explain why he felt the way he did. He wanted to die…

"No…" Jack whispered. "No!" Tears poured from his eyes like rivers across his dirty face and he sniffed loudly… but despite the sniffing, trails of clear mucus still slid down his upper lip and dripped down to his chin. "No! Ye're lying!"

"Jack…" Will reached out to grab Jack and hug him, but the pirate shoved his arm away, and without warning, he let out a long, screeching yell that would have popped light bulbs and cracked glass… The pirate threw back his head and sobbed. "Jack….!" Will tried to stay calm, but Jack would not let Will come near him.

Will sighed… crying would not help their situation in the slightest.

"Jack! Come on, stop this…"

"No! Get away from me!" The pirate turned around and ran out of the open door that led outside of the hut…

"Jack!" Will called, but by now Jack had ran so far that he was completely out of sight…

––––

"He ran away…" Will had to repeated it to himself to make sure that this was not a nightmare and that he was still not dreaming.

It was already nighttime, and Will had searched all across the smile island but has had no luck in finding Jack.

"He's still out there… he has to be!" His rationality was backed up by the sight of the dinghy, still bobbing along in the water next to the dock. "He hasn't left the island… We're the only two here."

Will paced across the wooden floor of the hut. He could not stop worrying about Jack and what could have happened to the poor blighter.

"I shouldn't have said anything…" Will shook his head. "I shouldn't have spoken so fast without thinking!" _But you knew this would come up sooner or later… _Will shook the though from his head. He wiped away the tears in his eyes that were making his eyesight impaired. "Jack just doesn't understand yet…" Will spoke to himself just above a whisper. "Jack doesn't know how much I care….right? He'll come back safe and sound before I know it… right?" For some reason…. He was not feeling very reassured.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I've been working vigorously on these next two chapters. :B

Anyway.

That's all.

R & R.


	13. Chapter 13

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: The sky looks like a road…

Jack had not slept a single blink that night… He cried so much to the point where he had run out of tears. That night was cold, and lonely, and Jack wished more than anything to be sleeping beside Will Turn Er, where it was warm and he felt safe.

"_Jackie…" _His Doppelganger returned, and was sitting beside him with an arm around the sobbing pirate's shoulders. _"Come on, Jackie…Don't do this…"_

"He lied to me!" Jack yelled at his replica. The other Jack fell silent and only stared. "He lied te' the both o' us!"

"_Ye ever thought that maybe he lied to ye for a reason? To protect ye or somethin'?"_

"No."

"_No?"_ The replica echoed. _"No, ye don't think he's protectin' ye, or 'No' ye didn't think about it?"_

"No!" Jack was very sort of turning around and hitting his imaginary friend, but the pirate restrained himself.. "Just no! Go away!"

_"Jackie… Did ye know that Will Turn Er is missin' ye?"_

"He doesn't care about me…" Jack whispered softly and sniffed again. His replica saw the thin, clear trails of mucus that led from Jack's nostrils all the way to his chin. The replica sighed and wiped the snot off with his bare hand.

"_O' course he cares about ye! When ye were sick, who sat at yer bedside and read ye stories?"_

Jack paused a minute, then gave a reluctant answer, "Will Turn Er."

"_And when ye were hungry, who slaved all day in the kitchen t'e bring ye somethin' to eat?"_

"Will Turn Er."

_"And when ye were nearly hit by that asteroid, an' when the dragon broke loose from it's cage and almost ate the princess… who came by yer side to help ye slay the dragon?"_

"Will Turn Er."

_"Tell me, Mate…." The replica paused. "Did yer father ever do half of that stuff?"  
_  
"No…" Jack replied.

_"Did yer father care about ye?"_

"No."

_"But Will does… and if ye asked me, I'd say that what ye did just then, runnin' away an' all, was very selfish of ye!"_

"But he-"

_"Forget about what he did! So he did __**ONE**__ bad thing, but he's done so many other good things for ye! Jus' forgive him and move on, mate…"_

"Ye think so?"

_"I know so!"_

Jack gave a weak smile. "… thanks, Jack." The replica smiled and faded off into the shadows, leaving Jack alone in the darkness of the forest greenery.

There was a beautiful smell in the air… smelled of something cooking, like meat. Jack's mouth watered and he pulled himself off the dirt forest floor and he followed the scent back to the hut where Will was already outside, standing over a large fire and roasting a few pieces of raw meat that he had brought with him from Port Royale.

Will, at first, did not noticed Jack as the pirate ran up to him, but when Jack began to yell,

"Will Turn Er!" Will had turned around, the blacksmith's jaw dropped to the floor, and he smiled, running to Jack and grabbing the pirate into his arms. Jack, being as light as he was… had been picked up very easily, and the blacksmith swung Jack around in a 360° circle. Jack giggled that entire time.

––––

"I was so worried Jack!" Will exclaimed, but Jack was not paying attention. The pirate was so busy shoving food into his mouth that he only heard maybe two or three words that Will had actually said. "I hardly slept last night!"

"Ye missed me that much, Will Turn Er?"

"I missed you so much more than I could ever explain, Jack!"

That made Jack's face warm with blush, and Jack hid his face under his long dreadlocks, which have now been so beaten and ratted that they looked more like locks of yarn than hair.

They ate together without speaking…but this was a good one, filled with smiled and random fits of laughter. They haven't been separated for so long since Anamaria had dragged a sleeping Jack through Will's house and begged Will to take care of him.

Once they had finished eating, Will put out the fire and they began to pack everything back into the dinghy.

"Will Turn Er?"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"What's in Tortuga?"

Will chewed his bottom lip as he tried to think of something that Jack could understand… "Uhm. Nothing really… Tortuga's a really boring place, you know."

"Oh." Jack did not ask any more questions, and he continued to help pack things into the dinghy with Will. Once everything was packed up and tied down, both Will and Jack hopped into the small boat and the lifted the anchor and shoved off.

––––

As Will had predicted, the sail was not that long, and they made it safely to Tortuga by nightfall, and they dropped the anchor near the docks and hopped out of their dinghy.

"Hold my hand, Jack… This is not a good place for me to loose you…"

Jack reached out and clutched Will's hand. The place wasn't anything like Will Turner had explained… Tortuga was loud, and it smelled terrible. Jack was beginning to wonder if he and Will were standing near an open trench. (A/N: Haha, Sweeney Todd reference.) They walked together and stood so close next to each other that they looked as though they were glued.

Everyone in Tortuga was drunk. Not a single man, woman or animal was not. Thankfully, for them, not a single person remembered Jack Sparrow's face, and thankfully, too, no one noticed Will and Jack holding hands. Surely, the last thing Will wanted was for people to think he was a pansy

"Come on, Jack…" He tugged at the pirate's hand and motioned for him to keep up. Will hadn't noticed that Jack's face reflected utter horror as they walked through the filthy town. Will was getting concerned, so as he led the pirate to one of the nearest taverns that Mr. Gibbs used to go to, he asked Jack… "Woah. Why do you look so scared?"

Jack's bottom lip quivered and he only glanced up at Will with hooded eyes. "Me father used to come here… and he'd take me with 'im." Jack shook his head violently and held a clenched fist over his mouth. "Ah've never liked it here you know. Ah'm terribly frightened… this place has always been too crowded."

Will did not ask any more questions… but from what he gathered, Jack must have got lost here on numerous occasions. He made a personal vow to himself from that moment, that he would not loose Jack. Will felt himself clutching the pirate's hand even tighter than before, and he pulled Jack closer to him.

They entered the tavern, and the chimes on the door rang. AS Jack had said… the place was crowded. Too crowded. There were people standing on tables, drinking from other people's mugs and some were passed out on the ground… they were being stepped on by everyone else who was dancing and moving about.

"Excuse me!" Will called to the bartender. It was a woman, she was not exactly beautiful, but she was not hideous. Jack would have said that she looked like the "Fair Princess" but in reality, she was not as beautiful as Elizabeth was. At least, that is what Will would have said. She turned around, and he long, dark red braid swung around and fell in front of her right shoulder.

"Can I help ye, laddies?" She had a very thick, Scottish accent. Jack smiled at her and he leaned over the table and spoke,

"I really like yer hair."

The woman chuckled a loud, long, deep laugh and she twisted one of her red, curly locks. "Why thank ye, me lad. Inherit'd from me ol' mother did I. Ev'ry bligh'r that be cahllin' 'erself a woman has hair jus' me ol' tressies."

Will cleared his throat, signaling to Jack to shut up… He then cut in and spoke to her in a nonchalant voice.

"Have you heard any news of the _Black Pearl_?"

"Aye! I 'ave 'eard news of t'at boat with those black sails, ye mean?"

"Yes! Do you know where it's harbored?"

"No, Sir. Last I 'eard, it be makin' i's way to that naval port."

Will's heart skipped a beat… "Port Royale?"

"S'at what they call i't?" She picked up a glass mug, spat in it and began to clean it out with a dirty, worn out cloth. "I 'eard it's headed there pickin' up an ol' crewmate… E'ither that, or it be the Cap'n they was lookin' far. Ye know, I only 'ear i't from scuttlebutt 'bout the tavern. Don't listen' to lil' ol' me."

"Thank you." Will nodded and she gave a curt wave in respond. From there, Will yanked Jack out of the tavern and they nearly sprinted back to the dinghy.

"Where is the crew then, Will Turn Er?"

Will was too busy trying to shove Jack into the boat that he spat out whatever answers came to his head… "They're already headed to Port Royale!" Jack stared at Will with wide eyes, despite the fact that he did not understand what it meant, when he saw his guardian's reaction, he knew that that was not a good thing.

Will hopped into the dinghy and they shoved off together…

––––

"Will Turn Er!"

Will ignored him.

"Will!"

"…"

"Will Turn Er!"

"What, Jack?"

"Hungry."

"Jack! You just ate…"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did! No less then an hour ago…"

"Ah'm hungry again!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes'a'hm.!"

"Fine then… Here." Will went through one of their bags and he pulled out a piece of leftover bread from their breakfast and handed it to Jack, who accepted the bread with eager hands.

"So Jack…" Will began. "Since we're just sitting here…" Jack looked up at Will, breadcrumbs fell from his mouth and he chewed loudly with my mouth open. Will ignored this and continued talking, "What should we talk about…?"

"I miss the Princess." Jack called out. Will sighed, and he did not want to think about it…

"I miss Elizabeth too, Jack."

"Am I really a pirate like ye say, Will Turn Er?"

"Yes! A famous pirate, see…" Will took Jack's arm and pulled up his sleeve to reveal a lovely tattoo of a bird flying over a sunset. Below this picture, there was Jack's name. "You're Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Jack's eyes lit up and he smiled. However, he happiness and pride was almost immediately replaced by a sorrowful frown.

"Do I have any kids, Will Turn Er?"

_Not that I know of…_ Will's mind spoke, but he did not want to make Jack feel guilty. "Nope. None."

"Were ye me friend, Will Turn Er?"

_Not really…._ "Of course I was!"

Jack gave another wide, toothy grin and he giggled softly. "Ye're the best friend ah've ever had, Will Turn Er… I'll try to remember to tell ye that when this curse lifts an' all." Jack took another vicious bite of bread and chewed it sloppily again. Will smiled…

In his heart, however, he knew that Jack would not accept him as a brother once the curse was lifted… he knew that Jack probably would not even remember all of the things they have been through together since this curse was first brought one. Yet, he would always remember it, and he engraved these events into his mind that he would not forget the friendship he shared with Jack… even if it didn't last that long.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I'm so sorry for these really slow updates...

I've just recently joined (under the same pen name), and I'm reviving some old, original stories that I've started, but stopped because I didn't have anything to do with them once they were finished...

So yep. I'm working on this and another story at the same time.

I plan to finish this first. I just might take a little longer. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Anyway, to my new readers... (If I have any?) Please R & R.

:B Thanks.

- Rawiyah


	14. Chapter 14

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: It's just a memory now…

_Months earlier…_

"Captain!" Gibbs voice rang throughout the Black Pearl. Everyone was in a panick… their Captain was nowhere to be seen.

"Gibbs!" Anamaria called out. The lightning struck the waters that they sailed, and the rain drenched everyone to the bone. Anamaria wiped away a few locks of dripping, wet hair as she ran to Mr. Gibbs who was standing on the deck just beneath the crow's nest. "Gibbs!"

"I found him, Maria!"

"What did I tell you about calling me that!" Mr. Gibbs did not respond, and instead he pointed to a small crate that laid on the wooden deck.

"Here he is!"

"Where?" Anamaria gazed at the crate that Mr. Gibbs was kicking. She waited, and listened… it was too hard to hear anything due to the thunder that roared above them, and the constant yelling of the other crewmates as they hurried to sail the ship without orders. Anamaria huffed when she could not hear anything coming from the crate,

She learned down and pressed her ear against the soaked wood. She heard soft mumbled coming from the inside… Words she could not make out.

"Jack!" Mr. Gibbs kicked the crate against, causing Anamaria to jump away from it and stare daggers at him…

"… leave me alone…" Jack's voice mumbled almost so softly that Anamaria at first could not hear it. She sighed…. This was not the first time Jack got so moody that he ran away and hid underneath something.

"Sparrow! Get out of there right now! This crew needs you to help us sail to land."

"No!" Jack yelled. Anamaria sighed… and for a minute, she wondered how such a big man like Jack Sparrow could even fit into such a small crate. Both her and Mr. Gibbs were beginning to grow impatient and they both continued to kick and scream at their pirate Captain as he continued to pout and grumble underneath the wooden crate… Around them, the government of the ship seemed to be falling to pieces, with the question of "who is the Captain"? Everyone was yelling at each other, and no one listened to anyone else…

Once the storm had stopped, everyone was still soaking wet… and they all still continued to scream and yell.

"That is it!" yelled Anamaria… She was sick of it… Sick of Jack's strange behavior and sick of everyone fighting all of the time. "I'm sick of this!" She announced… as if it were not already apparent. But everyone else felt the same way… and surprisingly, everyone took one, deep breath of relief once Anamaria had officially announced their feelings in her own.

She turned to Mr. Gibbs. "Gibbs!"

"Yes'm?"

"Drag Jack out of that crate…"

He did as he was told and Jack kicked and screamed.

"Geez, Mate! Stop it! I just don't feel like being a Captain today… I just want to play the guitar!"

"Jack!" Anamaria turned Jack around so that he faced her. She gave him a long, hard, stern look that made Jack shrink back a little… She huffed. "Jack… Look, when you decided to Captain the _Black Pearl_ that means you need to stick with that decision."

"No it doesn't." The pirate spoke with such a nonchalant tone of voice that it almost sounded as though he were going to throw away everything he had worked so hard for… "I'm still young. I can do other things that watch over this smelly boat and govern you spineless brigades."

Anamaria's mouth was hanging wide open… As was the rest of the crew.

"Now see here you little bas-"

Anamaria covered Jack's ears and Jack was spared the long string of cuss words that would spew from his first mate's mouth. Once the red color faded from Mr. Gibb's face, Anamaria moved her hands from Jack's head and she sent Jack to his cabin.

––––

"… He's been doing this since we returned from Peru with that treasure." Anamaria's voice was soft, but Jack could hear it clear as mud as he pressed his head against the wooden door.

"Coul'n't have been that treasure that we stole…? Blast it all! I surely had thought th'a we'd been done with this clique, cursed-ed treasure…" Mr. Gibbs paused to take a long swig of rum from his mug. Anamaria took this as a chance to continue speaking…

"Ah'm 'fraid that it might be a curse. We'll have to take him to someone…" She leaned over and pulled out the maps from underneath her feet as they laid rolled up parchment on the ground.

"Take 'im where?"

Anamaria smirked. "Well… tell me, Mr. Gibbs… Do ye know offhand where we could find some… Oh, I don't know… bayou?"

"Oh God. F'er the love of God… We're not goin' to… Her?"

"Yes, Mr. Gibbs… Her!"

––––

Jack couldn't sit still… He rocked on Her chairs… He chewed on Her furniture, he played with her trinkets and he tugged on her supplies that hung from the roof of her small hut.

"Jack Sparrow!" Her deep, smooth voice called to him. "Stop dat movin' 'round like dat…" Her Creole accent was very heavy, and it sauced over her sentences in such a smooth layer that it was almost hard for Jack to understand her. "'N stop chewin' on my tables."

Anamaria and Mr. Gibbs stood side by side near the front of the open door… Both were nervously shaking. They turned to look at each other… they stared for a moment, testing themselves to see who would speak up first. Frankly, both of them were scared shitless.

"Uhm…" Anamaria spoke. "Ah'm so sorry for Jack's behavior, Tia Dalma…"

But Tia Dalma wasn't listening to Anamaria. Tia Dalma was hovering over a large black kettle. The steam that rose from the black kettle blew in front of her face and wet her long dreadlocks. She sighed…

Then, after she had dipped her finger in to take a taste of whatever she had cooking, she reached over to the table and grabbed a wooden bowl and spoon. She scooped out a large, bubbling serving of green slop and flung it into the bowl. It continued to steam as it was now slushing around in the bowl that she held.

"Ye at least could 'ave fed 'im before ye brought 'im to me…" Tia Dalma sauntered over to where Jack was now sitting at her table. His eyes were wide with high alert and he gazed in awe at the bowl that Tia Dalma held. She sighed and almost literally threw the bowl in front of him and threw the wooden spoon with it. Jack did not waste his time and he immediately began to wolf down the green slop that Tia Dalma offered. "Hmph… To t'ink! Starvin' dis po boy like dat. T'is no wonder 'e been actin' strange ah'board yer ship."

"We're here on account of a curse…" Mr. Gibbs spoke this time for Anamaria, who was standing even closer to the door now, waiting to leave as soon as she could.

"Hn… Yes. 'Da curse." Tia Dalma next to Jack at the table… Jack was so busy slurping down Tia Dalma's soup that he did not even notice her there. Tia Dalma let out a long breath through her stained black, parted lips. "Dis be 'da curse of dat yu'ng Peruvian Princess. She 'ad died before she 'ad turned se'ven. She was laid to rest… up in d'a caves of d'a Alpamayo mountains."

Anamaria's eyes widened at the news… That was the exact mountain where we found the treasure… Tia Dalma continued…

"She was buried wi'd 'er Fadda's golden medallion… and 'er preshus teddy bear."

Mr. Gibbs turned to Anamaria and he looked at her. "I could have sworn… on me mother's grave that Jack was carryin' a teddy bear on his way out of those caves."

Anamaria's face and composure washed over with complete and utter shock. "We're cursed!" She cried out so loud that the creatures surrounding the bayou had all turned their heads in the direction of her voice… "We're cursed!"

"No!" Tia Dalma cut in and she stood up from where she sat at the table… "You ar' not curse… Only y'ar Captain…" She gestured towards Jack, who's head was laid flat against the table… asleep. A thin line of glistening drool trailed from his mouth and he snored soundly. "Ye see… D'is curse cannot be broken by 'im… At least, not alone."

"So then… how is it that we break this curse…?" Mr. Gibbs inquired in a breathy voice.

Tia Dalma's eyes sparkled and she gave a seductive smirk, showing off her shiny, metallic, black teeth… "Ye will need to take yer crew back up to d'ose mountains, all of ye, to'ge'da, and ye will need to return the gold and bear without Jack."

"That's it?" Anamaria couldn't believe how easy it sounded…

"No… Ye see… Jack's mind," Tia Dalma made a gesture above her head, "'is mind is now d'at of a teenager. In due time, it will be d'at of a young child… from d'ere, he will become like a baby."

"How much time do we have?" Mr. Gibbs and Anamaria spoke simultaneously now… both of them were leaning across the table and they were in such depth and concentration that they were both staring Tia Dalma in the eye and demanding answers. The obe woman only laughed, and her black teeth sparkled in the dim candlelight.

"Not much. When 'is mind becomes d'at of an infant… 'e will continue to deteriorate."

"You mean…" Anamaria's voice cracked and her eyes were so wide she felt that her eyes would pop from their sockets. "… He'll become a vegetable?"

Tia Dalma nodded and she reached over to rub Jack's back as he slept. "Da man will become no't'ing but a droolin' body d'at'd be better off dead!"

"How soon, will the curse lift, once it's…. lifted?" Mr. Gibbs asked. Of course, he was much calmer than Anamaria, and because of this, he decided to take over the job of talking for her.

"Gradually." Tia Dalma continued to grin, and she did not speak another word for the rest of that day.

––––

They dragged Jack back onboard the _Black Pearl_ and they took delicate care to be sure not to wake him up…

"To Port Royale!" Anamaria whispered to Mr. Gibbs as she tucked Jack into his bed…

"Wha…? Fer what? In case ye haven't remembered… we're not exactly _welcome_ in Port Royale."

"We can't leave Jack in Tortuga like this! He needs someone to look after 'im!"

"And who do ye suggest to look after 'im in Port Royale? Hm? Perhaps the Commodore? Or even the Governor!"

"No!" Anamaria smiled, "Even better…"

"Who?"

"William Turner."

* * *

Author's Notes:

The story is actually beginning to reach it's end.

In case you were confused about this chapter,

Everything that's happening here is from the past. Kind of like a flashback, except it's not from the memory of any other character.

Basically, it just gives extra background information about Jack, his crew, and the curse that we didn't know about in the first chapters.

I think I only have one more chapter to go before I close this story.

Thank you to all of you who've been reading it so far!  
I'm so glad you're enjoying it. (:


	15. Chapter 15

Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC.

Last and Final Chapter.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: At the break of dawn…

Norrington would have their heads… It was a terrible risk to take, bringing Jack back to Port Royale with such hast… But Will was determined to help Jack break the curse that affected his mind in such a strange way.

The sun began to rise, and the sky turned into a soft mix of oranges and reds. Will turned around and glanced at Jack, who was asleep… and drooling as he usually did. He felt a dull pain in his chest at the thought of having to part from Jack… He hadn't realized how much joy and adventure Jack had brought to his life.

It was a strange revelation that worried Will to no end.

It was not long before he could see the docks and other ships far off in the distance. He sighed…

"Come on, Jack…" Will gently shook the pirate's shoulder, and Jack moaned softly. He did not wake up, he just turned over on his side and swatted effortlessly at Will's hand. "Jack… Wake up." Will wasn't yelling… just begging. The pirate's eyelashes fluttered and soon he slowly opened his kohl-lined eyelids and blinked his chocolaty brown eyes.

"No…" Jack whined and he frowned. Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes and he thrashed about. "No, nononono!" Will sighed… but he did nothing to stop Jack from going into another tantrum. It didn't even really matter, regardless, Jack was at least awake.

They had to sneak passed the large boats by skulking in the shadows and avoiding all personnel. Will held Jack's hand the entire time, not wanting to lose the pirate.

They somehow, successfully made it back to the Blacksmith's shop, and Will ordered for Jack to stay hidden underneath a crate that was tucked in a far corner, covered by shadows.

The knock at the door frightened them both, but Will regained his composure and leisurely walked to the door, opening it painfully slow… He was relieved to see that it was only Elizabeth standing at the door, a very unusually happy grin on her face, making her light up like an angel.

"Oh Will!" She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly… Will was taken aback, but he returned her hug first. "I missed you so much!" She whispered into his ear…

"I missed you too…"

They parted for a moment, and Elizabeth continued to stare at him, her grin never leaving her face for even a moment. She was glowing…

"I have some wonderful news!"

––––

"You're kidding!" Will laughed, and shook his head almost not believing what he was hearing.

"No! I'm not! I was actually able to convince James Norrington to give you full pardon!"

Will continued laughing, his joy overflowing… But then, he saw Jack. Jack was still hiding under the table; his eyes were wide and fearful. That dull pain returned in Will's chest and he let out a soft breath through his nose… He turned to Elizabeth.

"What about Jack…?"

Elizabeth's smile had finally faded a little and she shook her head. "…He's still a pirate. I couldn't bargain with Norrington otherwise."

Will nodded slowly, then patted his lap, gesturing to Jack to come out from under the table. Elizabeth waved at Jack, but the pirate only stared at her as though he had never seen such a person before. Jack wobbled over to Will and he climbed onto the blacksmith's lap and sat on his leg.

Will's face contorted for a moment… not having realized how heavy Jack was. He recovered quickly, and held Jack's waist to keep him from falling off. Jack continued to stare at Elizabeth, and his thumb slowly found its way to his mouth. He drooled again…

"Wow.." Elizabeth's voice was soft, "Jack wasn't like this before he left…"

"Yeah, I know." Will tried to dodge Jack's wandering hand as it tried to touch his face. To distract Jack, he attempted to bounce the slobbering pirate on his knee as a father would… He only made it to one bounce before his leg fell victim to sharp pains. He grunted…

"What are you waiting for…?" Elizabeth asked idly.

"What…? We're waiting for the Black Pearl."

"You didn't see it in the harbor?"

"No…" Will's eyebrows arched. "Did you…?"

"I saw it far off in the distance; it had been there for a while now. I could only guess that some of the crew are probably wandering around the city looking for Jack."

"Damn…" Will spoke beneath his breath. "I didn't think they'd be here so soon…"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Geez, you're not the only one who loves Jack. His crew needs him more than you do…"

Will ignored her and he pulled Jack from his leg and up onto his feet. He dusted Jack off a little and fixed his hat, trying to make him look spick and span. Before he left the shop, he turned around and gave Elizabeth a long, passionate kiss on the lips. They both blushed a little and he waved to her as he took Jack's hand is his and made his way to the door. Jack attempted to wave as well before he was hauled away by Will.

––––

"Jack Sparrow!" Anamaria hugged the pirate Captain tightly, and Jack just stared… he was too shaken by fear to say anything or move. He turned and gave a helpless gaze Will… Will could have sworn that if Jack's eyes could talk, they would be saying 'please don't leave me, Will Turn Er'.

The kisses and hugs didn't last long, granted, the pirates knew that they were sitting ducks in Port Royale and they had to flee to open waters will all hast. Anamaria thanked Will a countless amount of times before she took Jack's hand and tugged for him to follow.

Jack shook his head and he jerked his hand away. He backed away from Anamaria and Mr. Gibbs slowly before turning around and hiding behind Will Turner. Will sighed…

"Go on, Jack…" He tried to pull Jack from behind him, but the pirate would not move and he absolutely refused to go with the two strangers…

"I don't know them, Will Turn Er." Jack finally spoke out softly.

"Will!" Anamaria was growing impatient… "We _really_ need to go now!" Though they were safely hidden in an alleyway, far from the sight of any pedestrian let alone an officer, they still felt unsafe…

Will turned to Jack and he held the pirate's shoulders tightly… "Jack, this is your crew… they came all this way to break this curse and now it's time for you to go back to them…" Will was not expecting to see tears streaming down Jack's face.

"B-but… I don't want to go with them. I want to stay with you, Will Turn Er."

Will's heart felt as though it had dropped from his body and fell to the ground… broken. He wrapped his arms around Jack and pulled him into a warm embrace. He sniffed and tears burned his eyes as they leaked slowly from his closed eyelids.

After a few short moments, when Will's voice came back, he whispered softly into Jack's ear as he held him, "Jack… I'll always be here when you need me. I won't be any place else. Any time you need me… I promise to be there for you… my brother."

Jack's lips quivered and he clutched Will even tighter. "… You'll always be my best brother, Will Turn Er." Will smiled.

They pulled away from each other and Will patted Jack on the back gently. "Alright… Get lost, you scallywag!" He spoke to Jack in a joking matter and Jack smiled back.

"I'll miss you…" The pirate said as he walked towards Anamaria and grabbed her hand.

"I'll miss you too…"

Anamaria and Mr. Gibbs waved to Will and they left stealthily through the shadows and disappeared, leaving Will in the shadows of the alleyways, tears streaming freely down his cheeks now.

––––

"There it is!" Elizabeth exclaimed and she pointed to the tiny speck of a ship that was floating off in the horizon. "There's the _Black Pearl_, Will!"

Will stood from where he was sitting on the couch and he came to stand in front of the window and looked in the direction where Elizabeth was pointing, and he saw it… the ship with black sails. He felt his lips curl into a small smile and he waved…

Onboard the _Black Pearl,_

Jack was leaning against the wooden railing of the deck and he was waving at the open air… Jack had not stopped waving since the moment they departed from the docks.

* * *

Author's Notes:

This is the last chapter, and so, it completes the story.

When I get the time, I might make an alternate ending for this...

Well. That's all for now, Folks!  
Read and Review. (:

Make the author happy today.

Thanks!  
-Rawiyah


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